Animal Farm

Here is a look at political news of import in the suburbs today:

Work on Des Plaines' casino, the state's tenth, will not likely start until next year.
Meanwhile, Des Plaines' village budget is drowning in red ink.

Cook County board members take stand against legalizing video gambling machines in bars and restaurants. But they can only stop them in unincorporated parts of the county. At the same time, Naperville has moved to ban the 'crack cocaine of gambling' as well.

Here is a look at what White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had to say to reporters on Air Force One on the way back from lossing the Olympic bid:

MR. GIBBS: Hello, guys. Here we go with the hostage video I was talking about earlier, right? (Laughter.) All right. Fire away.

Q What's your reaction?

In lieu of a roundup of suburban political news, we turn our thoughts to Chicago's Olympic bid fever.
Here is a copy of the speeches President Barack Obama and the First Lady gave earlier today to the International Olympic Committee:

Bella Center

Copenhagen, Denmark

9:21 A.M. CEST

MRS. OBAMA: President Rogge, ladies and gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs of the International Olympic Committee: I am honored to be here.

I was born and raised on Chicago's South Side, not far from where the Games would open and close. Ours was a neighborhood of working families -- families with modest homes and strong values.

Sports were what brought our community together. They strengthen our ties to one another.

Here is a look at suburban political news out today:

Tea Party attitudes filter down to attacking suburban librarians.
> "Those who come up here with tears in their eyes talking about the library, put your money where your mouth is," Xinos shot back. He told Sydney and others who spoke against the layoffs of the three full-time staffers (including the head librarian and children's librarian) and two part-timers to stop "whining" and raise the money themselves.
"I don't care that you guys miss the librarian, and she was nice, and she helped you find books," Xinos told them.

Here is a look at suburban political news out today:

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger shows up in the suburbs and is evasive on his political future.
""I'd have to think about it real hard and my wife will weigh in on that matter," Stroger said."

While most Republicans are aghast at rising taxes at the state level, in Naperville local officials aren't so worried as they look to hike their own.

Twenty years ago a downstate Republican named Jim Edgar announced he was running for governor. This weekend Edgar is assembling friends and members of his administration in Springfield.
Could it be the comeback announcement many Republicans have coveted?
"I don't believe so," the former governor said Friday. "I think that'd be quite a surprise."
Edgar basically wants to hang out with his old pals, talk politics and reflect on the past two decades.
The exact 20-year anniversary of his campaign kickoff was in August, but he said it was too hot to have a reunion then. He'd consulted the U of I football schedule to find a weekend without a home game.
He recalled his 1989 fly around announcement with eight stops through out the state including a big rally in the Capitol rotunda.

You might recall that Rod Blagojevich once proposed selling off the Thompson Center to help balance the budget. He also wanted to sell off the tollway headquarters and the Illinois Lottery for the same reason. That lottery deal is still kinda part of the latest budget solution.

These deals are often complicated and a challenge to explain. The Daily Show recently tackled the topic, exploring Arizona's plan to sell off its rather ugly Capitol building.