Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:

Showdown Downplayed
Despite receiving plenty of national coverage, the local media largely ignored this week's Showdown in Chicago. Newstips' Curtis Black wonders why.

Playing Dumb?
Mayor Daley tried to blame Cook County Assessor James Houlihan for the county's rising property tax bills. The Beachwood Reporter's Steve Rhodes thinks Daley's argument "is nothing more than a deceit designed to protect him politically."

Innocent And At Risk
Pat Nolan previews a new report suggesting a series of modest policy changes to increase family contact during incarceration.

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