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Let's see, New York City has second thoughts about trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks, but it's OK to house similar terrorists in an Illinois prison. Guess the squeaky wheel got the grease this time around from the Obama administration.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided it would cost $200 million in extra security, tie up traffic, interfere with Big Apple commerce and depress real estate values during the duration of the trial. The Hound is just guessing here, but didn't Attorney General Eric Holder take all that into consideration when he said Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in a civilian court, rather than Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? Maybe that Massachusetts senatorial vote caused an Obamian flip-flop?

In the meantime, Illinois appears ripe to house terrorists from Gitmo. President Obama is including in his $3.8 trillion fiscal 2011 federal budget proposal $237 million to buy and upgrade the nearly vacant Thomson Correctional Center in northwest Illinois to house Gitmo detainees. The State of Illinois and the federal government are currently dickering over the purchase price of Thomson.

Maybe Illinoisans should start to squeak, just like the New Yawkers did.

The Hound should have placed this bet years ago --- closing in on two to be exact. Attorneys for Lake County Circuit Court Judge David Hall alleged in court the other day that Vernon Hills cops erased video of the judge's DUI arrest. On purpose.

What motive police would have to destroy evidence is beyond The Hound. But it seems to be a defense move to place the cops on trial, rather than a judge whose blood-alcohol content was .107, above the legal limit of .08. Wonder how other county police officers might feel if they were accused --- by a Lake County judge's paid messengers --- of breaking the law regarding an arrest. Might they have questions about future court appearances? It's not like Hall's attorneys are dancing around this.

Their motion contends the "Vernon Hills Police Department had the memory of the squad car computer hard drive erased" sometime after the judge's traffic arrest. Sounds like a conspiracy, what Holmes? Just bringing this allegation up casts a pall over the arrest. If they have proof, the judge's attorneys should take this information to the Attorney General's Office for further investigation and prosecution, unless they're throwing this contention out there and hoping it sticks to the legal wall. That's what well-paid defense lawyers do, after all. They work all the angles.

Regardless, the judge's attorneys are ready to argue their motion March 1, which is nearly two years from Hall's April 26, 2008 arrest on DUI and resisting charges. The attorneys also claim the blood sample taken from the Waukegan jurist at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville also might be tainted because it was not properly preserved. Wasn't a similar allegation part of O.J. Simpson's defense? If it worked for him, might work for a judge.

Vernon Hills police and the attorney general's prosecutor contend it was an honest mistake that the video doesn't exist of the judge's arrest. Who do you believe: Cops from the mean streets of Vernon Hills or a judge's attorneys?

When the election is over in November, Gov. Pat Quinn has a future in the restaurant industry. And the way he's weaved and waffled since he's been placed in office, he should open a waffle house, except they already have Waffle Houses across the nation which serve tasty breakfasts, including yummy cheese grits.

The guv's latest move is changing his mind on the early release of prison inmates. He or his prisons chief whom the governor so elegantly threw under the bus the other day, need to rethink letting his mopes out early, especially into an economy where working folks can't get jobs, let alone ex-cons.

The governor let out 1,000 inmates just in time for the Christmas holiday. If he was hoping for primary votes from the former prisoners, he should be prepared for a backlash from ordinary citizens who don't taken kindly to putting these guys back on the streets. Especially if the governor's line is we have overcrowded prisons, but there's an empty one in Thomson ready for Guantanamo Bay detainees to check in.

Between the low-level releases and the meritorious good time provisions, it's time for the governor to revisit Criminology 301. And be prepared to defend his prison decisions and his waffling.
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Just in time for the premiere of AMC's "The Prisoner" remake, we learn Illinois may be the home to some 200 al-Qaida terrorists currently near a Cuban beach in Guantanamo Bay. The Hound says ship them to the Thomson Correctional Center. We might as well make something off the Jihadists.

Besides, these prisoners look like they will be surrounded by about 1,500 GIs, if U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin knows what he is talking about. If military guards are involved, what happens to the 3,000 jobs Gov. Pat Quinn was touting for tiny Thomson, out there in northwest Illinois, a region which over the years has commonly been referred to as Forgottonia. That's because the rest of Illinois has forgotten about it, like one of your funny uncles.

Congressional Republicans have decided to fight this proposal by the Obama administration tooth and nail with Highland Park Congressman Mark Kirk leading the charge to keep these terrorists where they belong --- Cuba. He says putting them in Illinois leaves us open to danger at O'Hare International Airport and the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). He even has an online petition on his U.S. Senate campaign Web site to send a message that Illinoisans don't want terrorists here: www.noterroristsinillinois.com.

Kirk and his fellow Illinois Republicans argue if the Islamic terrorists are here, they will endanger Illinois. The Hound thinks we have enough of homegrown terrorism on the streets of our cities that we can handle 200 Jihadists. Besides, they may like it here. Except in winter.

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Is anyone seriously shocked that a father would use his kids to finagle his way into a "reality show"? The Hound isn't. This is what happens to people when they get that first taste of 15 minutes of fame. They then want a half hour.

Colorado authorities are weighing felony charges against Ballon Boy's dad, Richard Heene, after he reported to police his 6-year-old son drifted away in a space-alien looking helium balloon made in his back yard. During media interviews, the kid blurted out the stunt was for "the show" which got investigators digging. Now they think the whole thing was a hoax in order to get on a reality show.

After all, the family was on "Wife Swap" not once, but twice! It's enough torture to watch that program, let alone putting your family through it twice. And, let's not overlook former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to get on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" show. Blago's wife, Patti, was one of those on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" where "celebrities" were dropped into the jungle and then had to cope.

It was one of the lamest shows and the celebrities didn't even include Kathy Griffin, and she's on the D-List. The Hound was forced to watch "I'm a Celebrity" for news value and had to bail after episode two. Yuck, and to think Patti nearly drowned!

A federal judge appears to be willing to allow Blago to appear with Trump in the program scheduled for March 2010 if he'll agree not to spout his innocence of trying to peddle a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. Prosecutors say he's trying to taint the jury pool.

What else would a reality "star" be doing now that reality has set in for the former guv?

The Illinois Gaming Board rejected Waukegan's bid to put a casino at Fountain Square because of Illinois wheeler-dealer William Cellini. So who were the city officials that vetted this process and went along with the gambling consortium behind the bid? Is this a Democrat thing when it comes to failing to find out things in people's past --- like a treasury secretary nominee who couldn't figure his own taxes?

Cellini is well known in the state capital as a well-connected businessman who has done deals with Democratic and Republican administrations throughout the years from his Springfield base. He now stands indicted on federal charges of helping to shakedown a firm seeking state business for campaign contributions to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the old "pay to play" politics so prevalent in Illinois.

According to Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffee, Cellini and his family could have made deep six-figures if Waukegan had been awarded the casino. This is an odd finding since a member of the Waukegan group seeking the license contended Cellini had sold his stake in the consortium in 2007. Apparently, according to Jaffe, an associate of Cellini purchased the wheeler-dealer's investment for $32,450 and had to pay Cellini the balance of prior costs in the Waukegan project.

That's how things are done in Illinois and now we find out that's also the way it's done in Waukegan, which lost out to the lower casino bid offered by Des Plaines. If the city folks had done their homework, perhaps Waukegan's lakefront dreams could have been realized some time before the end of the 21st century.

As it is now, it appears to be another power broker gambit by an indicted political player.

The Hound has never been a laughingstock. Well, there was the time of mixing Red Bull with a high-octane beverage, and then butchering "My Heart Will Go On" from "The Titanic." But that was only at a karaoke bar in the county's nether regions. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be a laughingstock for some time, as will the State of Illinois.

Blagojevich, along with the state and us by proxy, were pillioried Tuesday night by David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien and Stephen Colbert, to name just a few. Wonder what "Saturday Night Live" has in store for Gov. Rod "This seat's for sale" Blagojevich?

The late-night talk show hosts probably will continue on Blagojevich who was nailed by the FBI for trying to peddle the open seat of President-elect Barack Obama for some six-figure coin. Guess he must have watched "Rome" on HBO. The Romans used to sell Senate seats to the highest bidders, so the guv figured he could get away with it, too. Except this isn't Rome. Heck, it's not even Rome, Ga.

His coming indictment will bring more shame and guffaws about Illinois and our corrupt governors and public officials. What's not funny is we deserve it. We're the buffoons who keep electing these political grifters.

You know the "Land of Lincoln" slogan on Illinois license plates? The Hound suggests we replace it with "Land of Thieves".

It's more appropriate, don't you think, especially after Gov. Rod "The Mod" Blagojevich was charged Tuesday with criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and anything else the U.S. attorney's office can muster between now and when Blago and his chief of staff, John Harris, go to trial.

The Blago charges are the latest in what makes The Hound proud his doghouse is in the Prairie State and not in Wisconsin. What fun do they have in the Badger State with their politicians? How many of their governors or ex-governors have done jail time? Hah! Take that Packer fans.

So to advertise our support for continued political corruption in Illinois, we should all lobby Secretary of State Jesse White, who probably will never be indicted, to change the license plate slogan to "Land of Thieves".

While some may cluck-cluck over the governor's charges of allegedly trying to sell the open U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Obama to the highest bidder being a new low in Illinois politics, The Hound says we tout our sprees of corruption proudly. There's no better place to do so than squarely on an Illinois license plate.

Besides, The Hound thinks "Land of Thieves" has a better ring than "Land of Clout".

As a hound, The Hound is irate over poor Rupert, the Chinook sled dog who got caught in a trap somewhere in either Vernon Hills or Libertyville. Whoever put that trap in a place where dogs and kids may play should have his or her nose placed in one of those traps to see how it feels.

The Hound actually is dumbfounded that trapping still exists in parts of Lake County, especially those urbane areas of Vernon Hills and Libertyville. Who knew there was enough wildlife left to trap, considering developers, with the help of municipal officials, have paved over most of the ground cover for fur-bearing animals which once were trapped for a living.

Granted, the way this economy is going, many of us may be taking up trapping to pay the bills. That and poaching deer out-of-season to make venison sausage to tide us over until we can grow vegetables. Or shoot doves or ice fish.

While The Hound is concerned about other canines who might be caught in traps, if The Hound lived in Libertyville or Vernon Hills, The Hound also would be worried about little children who could find themselves caught in the trap. And, The Hound isn't talking about a mouse trap.

The Hound has to give chops to Rex, the K-9 Kop with the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The German shepherd sniffed out one of the three mopes allegedly involved in a home invasion in Round Lake Beach the other day. Good, boy!

As a fellow traveler, The Hound hopes Rex's partner, Deputy Jim McKinney, rewarded the K-9 with the wonder smell. Perhaps he got an extra dose of kibble or hopefully a sirloin steak bone to chew. Yum!

Three suspects allegedly brandished a sawed-off shotgun, and surprised a woman, took her ATM card and locked her in a bathroom in the breakfast time break-in. The woman was unhurt. Also taken, allegedly, was a Chevrolet Blazer.

Rex and McKinney arrived on the scene after deputies and Round Lake Beach police tracked a 16-year-old suspect to an area around routes 12 and 120. The juvenile apparently left a piece of clothing inside the Blazer which, allegedly, was used as a getaway vehicle.

The K-9's super sense of smell got a scent of the teen and Rex discovered him inside a dumpster at a landscape company. The suspect was taken into custody and now resides at the Depke Center in Vernon Hills. Two alleged accomplices were taken into custody late Wednesday by Round Lake Beach police. They currently reside in the Lake County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bonds.

This is one case for the good guys and a good dog.