In his SouthtownStar column today, Rich Miller calls out Attorney General Lisa Madigan for her troubling, ongoing silence on the state budget crisis.  He writes that "it's high time" the "most popular politician" in Illinois come out of hiding and express "her views on this crazy mess":

Madigan has been mum. She said months ago that a tax hike would hurt people who already were hurting, yet she's been silent ever since. A group of protesters opposed to massive budget cuts marched to her Springfield office last week to try and get an answer out of her. No luck. [...]

As the most likely of all candidates to win whatever office she seeks, she owes us all an explanation of her views on this crisis.

Come out of hiding, attorney general. The sooner the better.

Miller also has some choice thoughts on how the Republicans have approached the budget mess.  And he says of Speaker Michael Madigan and those House Democrats who defeated an income tax hike in late May: "They knew what the right thing to do was, and they didn't do it. I won't defend that behavior."  Read the whole thing.