I usually use my weekend posts to talk about local and state events and try to put them in perspective for the week, but this morning I decided to write about the shootings at Northern Illinois University this past week that claimed six innocent lives at last count. This shooting has been sticking with me because NIU is where I did my undergrad work in Journalism and Communications back in the early 1990s.

As I sat there watching the coverage on the national news all I could think was, “Oh my God, I know exactly where that is.” The shootings took place in Cole Hall, which is a large lecture hall for the bigger classes. I took an introductory film and media class there. I also used to walk by it everyday en route to class or the student television station. And later came back to guest lecture there on occasion for my former professors. I thought I’d forgotten all about it, but as I saw the coverage the room where the shootings occurred came back into my mind as clear as day. And all I could think was how horrible it would have been to be there when someone stepped from behind the lecture curtain and started shooting because there’s no easy way to get out of the room once something happens. You either run out the back or towards the side doors that are at the front of the lecture hall and pray you make it.

I know there is a lot going on here in Indiana, property taxes, government reform, an upcoming special election. But all I could really focus on the last couple days is my Alma mater and the fact that several of my fellow Huskies went to class like they usually do and never came back.

By now you’ve heard that Republican Congressional candidate Jon Elrod was captured on video by Democratic operatives handing campaign literature to a House staffer to mail.  There’s no question that is against the rules of using state employees to politic on government time.  Elrod made a stupid mistake and the voters will have to decide if it rises to the level of not being elected to Congress.  I personally don’t think it matters much in the grand scheme of things, but Elrod should remember when you’re a candidate, you’re under the microscope and everything you do is subject to scrutiny.

But there is a bigger issue here.  I was at the Statehouse today and from what I was  able to gather, not a lot of people on either side of the aisle were too happy about how this all went down.  As one lawmaker put it, “this changes the rules and we are going into new territory and opened a can of worms.”

What they meant was that anyone with a video camera can go into the House gallery and record what lawmakers are doing while sitting at their desks.  This means they can get video of lawmakers playing solitaire, booking airline reservations, shopping on eBay and even visiting their campaign websites all with government computers on government time.  And God forbid someone accidentally turns off the spam pop-up blocker.  It may not be against the law, but just imagine the campaign commercial in a tight race or primary?

And why even bother with a video camera, a simple freedom of information request of lawmakers’ e-mail accounts, remember these are government computers, and see what type of correspondence has been going on. And who knows what potentially embarrassing e-mail is out there.   Granted none of it may be illegal, but the potential for a lot of  embarrassment is there.

And now that we have gone into the realm of  video taping lawmakers to achieve a political advantage in a race that publicly some people say should be no contest, all bets are off.

This should be fun to watch.

I’ve been having some conversations with Indiana lawmakers today about everything that’s been going on in the General Assembly lately and everyone agrees that none of it matters.   There are negotiations behind the scene which my sources  describe as tense but progressive.  The day to watch for is February 19.  That’s the day the House version of property tax reform is scheduled for a vote in the Senate. Everything up until then is foreplay (bad foreplay as one female lawmaker told me) and then the big question will be to see who gets screwed. Any bets on who it will be?

Two candidates for the 7th Congressional District are probably thanking God this morning for IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson is in big trouble for several serious alleged violations of NCAA rules and now IU is scrambling for damage control.

This is what everyone is talking about and not Republican Jon Elrod handing a staffer campaign literature to mail from the Indiana House floor and Andre Carson blowing off neighborhood meetings. There’s nothing like someone else’s bad press to take the spotlight off your own.

Okay Libertarian Sean Shepard, now it’s your turn.

Marion County Clerk Beth White today says a legal opinion by Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita will cost taxpayers thousands of dollars and put the May 6 primary in jeopardy.  White had originally planned to use paper ballots for the March 11 special election for the 7th Congressional District, thereby freeing up the County’s voting machines for the May primary.

However at this morning’s election board meeting, White said Rokita’s legal opinion was that the paper ballots violated federal law and the County had to use electronic voting machines.  White wanted to use paper ballots and allow electronic voting on-demand, because of the short time period between the two elections.  White says the machines need to be programmed for each election and there is not enough time to do it between the two elections.

White said while she strongly disagreed with Rokita’s opinion and said it lacked common sense, she said she did not have the energy to fight Rokita and accused him of playing politics and parroting the Marion County Republicans criticism of her office.   Matt Tusing, Rokita’s Chief of Staff, says they are not playing politics but advising White to comply with the law.

Marion County GOP Chairman Tom John says White can have the machines ready for both the March 11 and May 6 primaries, she just has to tell ES & S, the company which owns the machines, to do so.

White says because of Secretary of State’s opinion the County may have to spend up to $250,000 to buy or rent new machines for the May 6 primary and she can’t guarantee the election will go smoothly.

7th Congressional District candidate Andre Carson raised a stir Tuesday night by skipping out on an Eastside neighborhood association meeting.  This was not the first time.  Carson also missed a scheduled candidate forum last Friday at Oasis Church near 25th and Keystone.  The forum was supposed to be with ex-offenders and reintegrating them into society.  County Auditor Billie Breaux went in his place.  Carson reportedly hadn’t made it back from a trip to Washington.  If he keeps getting bad advice and skipping out on important neighborhood meetings, he may never get to Washington.  The special election is March 11.

Apparently someone in the Andre Carson camp isn’t too keen on sharing the stage tonight with Republican Jon Elrod and Libertarian Sean Shepard. Carson was supposed to appear tonight at the Community Heights Association neighborhood forum  at Arlington Heights Baptist Church on East 16th street, but dropped out at the last minute. My sources also say his campaign has been calling the media telling them they never agreed to show up in the first place.  However, they offered to send former Deputy Mayor Melina Kennedy in Carson’s place.

Someone is playing fast and loose with the truth because I’ve known about this forum for weeks and even sent my producer to cover it tonight. This is not a good way to conduct a political campaign when you’ve got less than 30 days to go until the election. Carson needs to call someone on the carpet for this bad judgment call.

I just got word that John McCain is scheduled to come to town for a fund raiser on February 22. What’s ironic is the 22nd is the last day to file in Indiana and it’s also Washington’s Birthday.  Lunch with McCain will cost you $1,000, and a photo will run you $2,300. The event will be held at the Conrad in downtown Indianapolis.

I’m hearing conflicting signals this afternoon over whether House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Crawford will hear SB 280, Marion County Government Consolidation. A House Democratic spokesman says it is on the calender for a hearing tomorrow at 9 a.m.

However, I’m hearing that Crawford is mad as hell over Mayor Greg Ballard’s testimony yesterday before the committee and as of two this afternoon told SB 280 proponents the bill was getting pulled.

So will he or won’t he hear government reform geared at promoting efficiency and saving the taxpayers money in the long run? I guess we’ll know first thing in the morning.

By a vote of 21-8, a bi-partisan group of City-County Councilors gave Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard the first major victory of his administration, control of the police department. Five Democrats joined 16 Republicans in voting to give the Mayor control of IMPD from the Marion County Sheriff.

The Mayor has operational control of the department, while the Sheriff gets to consult on certain policy matters.  Despite the agreement, Democrats like Minority Leader Joanne Sanders said the Administration should have provided a financial analysis of the costs of the transfer.  Public Safety Director Scott Newman said the costs would be minimal at best.

Newman also said with the city having seen 15 homicides since January 1, and four of them children, it was time to get to the business of fighting crime.

Police Chief Mike Spears called the vote an opportunity for rank and file officers to express their opinions and offer new ideas on how to improve the department.

Meanwhile, Democratic Councilor Vernon Brown might have summed it up best when he said, “This is what the public voted, but remember the old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for.'”

The transfer goes into effect at the end of the month.

The council also voted to approve a new charter school and appointed well-known Libertarians Brad Klopfenstein and Tim Maguire to the Metropolitan Zoning Board of Appeals.