Gov. Pat Quinn to propose tax cut for families with children

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FILE - In this 1993 file photo, actor Gene Hackman is seen. Gene Hackman’s publicist says the veteran Oscar-winning actor was briefly hospitalized after a vehicle bumped him from behind while he was riding a bicycle in the Florida Keys, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/File)

The Quinn bin: Sneed has learned Gov. Pat Quinn plans to make life a lot easier for Illinois households with kids.

â—†Translation: Watch for Quinn to propose a tax cut targeting families with children at his State of the State address on Wednesday. “This tax cut will benefit almost 1.5 million families in Illinois, by putting more money in their pockets,” a top source said.

The Blago beat …

Is it akin to squeezing blood from a turnip?

Sneed is told the feds are in the process of plunging another knife into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich before he starts serving his 14-year federal prison sentence on the Ides of March.

â—†Translation: Federal prosecutors have filed papers seeking $21,800 out of Blago’s $129,176 in contributions to his state retirement fund in order to satisfy a federal court judgment. “It could have bought a used car for his 15-year-old daughter, Amy, who just got her driver’s permit,” quipped a Sneed source.

Follow up …

It’s been a year and the late Mary Infantino’s jewelry is still missing.

Cook County Sheriff’s police/Oak Lawn cops still don’t know where it went. And the hospital where it reportedly went missing is not talking.â—†Backcheck: Infantino, 89, was struck by a car and killed in 2010.

â—†Upshot: Employees at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, who treated her in the emergency room, placed her jewelry – which included her 60-year-old diamond wedding ring – in a biohazard bag.

â—†Buckshot: “Hospital employees agreed to take polygraph exams until corporate lawyers for the hospital got involved and put the kibosh on it,” said Michael Kaufmann, chief of detectives at the Oak Lawn Police Department.

â—†Quoth Kaufmann: “Essentially, our investigation is stalled … but something happened to that bag. Was it misplaced, lost or stolen? We haven’t been able to determine.” It’s not the first time patient property has gone missing at the hospital, he added.

â—†The flip side: Hospital spokesman Mike Maggio tells Sneed, “It’s a legal issue, so we are not commenting at this time.”

â—†The family side: Former top Dem politico/former Chicago Board of Trade czar Tom Donovan, who is married to Infantino’s daughter, Vita, tells Sneed “everyday is a heartache” and “resolution is needed.”

â—†First up: First lady Michelle Obama blasts author Jodi Kantor’s portrayal of her in Kantor’s insightful tome, The Obamas – despite Mrs. Obama’s acknowledgment she hadn’t read the book.

â—†Second up: What was characterized as a finger pointing “dust-up” last week between President Barack Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was reportedly because Obama was upset at her book’s account of an earlier meeting between the two – despite the fact the president admitted to only reading a book excerpt.

â—†Question: Isn’t critical analysis based on gathering all the facts before one opens one’s mouth?

BEATLE BLATHER

To some it’s an honor: But the late Beatle John Lennon decided he no longer wanted to be called “Sir” and gave the British monarchy back his Order of the British Empire because of the country’s support of America in the Vietnam War – among others things, according to a report in the New York Times.

â—†Signing off: Lennon signed his letter to the Queen: “Sir John of Bag.”

Sneedlings

Flower Power: For the third consecutive year, the Chicago Botanic Garden set an all-time attendance record: 953,864 visits in 2011. … Today’s birthdays: Greg Louganis, 52; Oprah Winfrey, 58; Eleanor Randolph, priceless … Monday’s birthdays: Vanessa Redgrave, 75; Gene Hackman, 82; Phil Collins, 61, and Warner Saunders, ageless.

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