U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking senator on Capitol Hill and a veteran of many partisan battles, said on at least three separate occasions he'd rather negotiate a truce in Iraq than mediate the conflict in the Statehouse. He told The Associated Press, "I'd rather deal with the Sunnis and Shias than an open civil war. It's easier to figure out who your enemy is."
Democrats could hardly ask for more power in the Illinois Capitol. Their party chairman heads the House, they hold all statewide elected posts including governor and, just for good measure, they have a veto-proof majority in the Senate.
But instead of routing Republicans, the Democrats are fighting among themselves in a very nasty and public way.
Read the full report Just How Bad Are Things in Springfield? on the Stateline.org Web site.