The [Monday] Papers

Don't you think it's time to make our elected officials full-time employees prohibited from outside employment?

Or maybe we should just ban the Burke family from elected office.

Not only is Ald. Fast Eddie Burke a lawyer on the side who represents clients before the county tax appeals board, but his brother Dan is a state legislator who is a - wait for it - lobbyist - on the side. (Ed Burke also slates judges for the Democratic party while his wife was scammed into a seat on the state supreme court, but let's set that aside for today.)

"[Dan] Burke, 58, is one of several elected officials in the Chicago area who also work as lobbyists," the Sun-Times and the Better Government Association report.

And that's not all.

Burke also collects a $68,828 annual pension from the City of Chicago where he was once deputy city clerk.

Way to work the system, Dan!

You're a real role model for the kids.

Jason The Plummer
How long until the pressure builds on GOP lieutenant governor nominee Jason Plummer to drop off the ballot just like Dem counterpart Scott Lee Cohen?

"Plummer highlights his service as a Navy intelligence officer, but he received his commission just last September and has yet to undergo training," the Tribune reported over the weekend.

"He touts his creation and operation of a wireless Internet provider while still a college undergrad, yet public records show it was his father who owned the firm and Plummer was never listed as an officer.

"He has referenced his experience working for former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald and a conservative think tank, but doesn't always mention both jobs were internships.

"Plummer also had a short stint as Madison County Republican chairman during which he oversaw the opening of a GOP office in a strip mall owned by one of his family's businesses, which received more than $13,000 in rent."

In other words, Plummer, who recently said he is qualified to be governor despite being just 27 and having virtually no experience doing much of anything, is a poser.

"A 2005 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Plummer often boasts to campaign audiences that he launched and personally ran Celerity Inc., a downstate wireless Internet provider, while still an undergrad majoring in finance. But state records show Plummer has never been listed as an officer of Celerity, which was incorporated by his father.

"'I assure you I owned a big portion of that company,' Plummer said. 'It was my idea. I was very actively involved in that.' Plummer said he was a vice president of the firm, but corporate records filed with the state show a different person serving as a vice-president of Celerity.

"In late January, Plummer told a suburban rally that he still ran Celerity. But on Friday he told the Tribune he sold it last August or September. State records show no record of a sale."

That's not all.

"Shortly after Plummer launched his bid for first public office, his campaign produced a resume that noted he had 'served internships' with Fitzgerald and with the conservative Heritage Foundation. By December, the official resume had been updated and the reference to internships removed.

'Instead, it said that he 'served under' the senator and 'with' the Heritage Foundation. In a Chicago radio interview last month, Plummer described his role at the foundation as acting as 'the go-between between the Heritage Foundation and Congress and the Senate and the administration.'

"Foundation official Brian Darling said Plummer's description of his role was accurate, but also explained that interns like Plummer spend a lot of their time 'dragging around food for meetings and making copies.'"

Which qualifies Plummer for the lieutenant governorship, but not quite the state's top job.

Another fine mess.

Going Green
Carol Marin noted on Sunday that Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney notched 10.4 percent of the vote last time around. In Winnebago County, where Rockford is based, he got 24 percent.

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By the way, the Green Party's lieutenant governor candidate is Don W. Crawford.

Trib Diet
The Tribune's width is receding faster than the polar ice caps.

There's something to be said for a product exuding confidence. Instead, we have newspapers that are now literally disappearing before our eyes.

The Prison Chief's Past
When Gov. Pat Quinn named the now-embattled Michael Randle the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections in May, he said his administration had "looked all over the country" and found "the best of the best."

But at the time Quinn hired Randle, "the best of the best" was under investigation by Ohio's inspector general for allegedly conducting business in a very Chicago way.

A look back at what the inspector general found.

Olympic Moments
Blowouts and blowhards.

Pilsen's Honky Tonk BBQ
Rock 'n' roll ribs.

All The Presidents' Children's Books
Our very own Cate Plys takes a look at Slate.

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The Beachwood Tip Line: Presidential.

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