Yo! Willy!

Da Bears are going to the Super Bowl. I don't care. Please stop talking about it. What, all the sudden Peoria loves Chicago? As if our town has something to do with this "miracle." Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them and all -well, I would be- if I cared. For me to get really excited, I have to see how this was going to be a financial boon to our fair State. It seems to me that the dollars will mostly fall in Miami, where the game will be played. Why is the hallmark football game of the year being played in the tropics anyway? It's football, not some prissy cricket match. How teams deal with crummy weather is part of the sport. They should play the game in Chicago, Denver, or Buffalo.

I'm sure Peoria had a big impact the great presidential hopeful Barak Obama as well. Seeing an outline of Illinois projected on the national news sure does a lot to swell the pride of some Peorians. Whatever makes you happy.

Today's Word On the Street caught my eye. The last couple of paragraphs anyway. I'm not sure why someone from our region throwing a fundraiser favoring Edwards over Obama is column worthy. However, Aaron Schock's relationship with Junction City owner Alexis Khazzam is interesting. Aaron received $26K from Khazzam in his later days of campaigning. Now Khazzam has employed Schock. Something about Schock doing something for Khazzam by heading up Project Springboard! The project will encourage Bradley students/grads to compete for start up funds for their very own Peoria business. Uh, okay. Sounds like someone has been watching too many Apprentice re-runs. I'm sure Alexis Khazzam is aware of our brand spanking new taxpayer funded business incubator being built within spitting distance of Aaron's office. The whole thing is probably legit, but odd. We will have to wait for Aaron to file a tax return in order to see how much this alliance/job pays. To be fair, the State Rep gig doesn't pay much. Neither did the School Board stint. Most successful pols are independently wealthy. Maybe Aaron is trying to shore up his personal bank accounts in order to move on to bigger and better offices? Aaron, I love ya, but you really need to write a cheesy book with a cheesy subtitle if you ever want to be president.

Speaking of Aaron Schock, WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO WILLY NILLY?! I'd think you'd be all over this. I miss you, Buddy. Time to shake off the post Ray Lahood re-election blues and get back to blogging. Jeeze. Your team took the House and the Senate. The White House is yours to lose. Isn't that better than just getting Ray Dingleberry bootkicked out of office? The election gods had to do something to keep you humble.