Carol Martin of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Senator Obama has admitted not paying attention to home state issues in Illinois, despite the fact that he is drawing a salary to represent his continents' interest in the Senate. Is Barack Obama out of the loop when it comes to his home state of Illinois?That was the question posed Monday by my NBC5 colleague, political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, after trying hard to get the senator's views on a variety of newsy topics in Chicago. Obama, who showed up at Monday's Operation PUSH convention, stopped for a very brief Q-and-A with waiting reporters. Getting Obama to set aside time to talk to the local press back home has been nothing short of a major challenge for many months now.What about the state budget funding crisis and casinos? asked Ahern.''I haven't been following the negotiations closely enough to know what's taking place,'' Obama said.How has his political mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, the recipient of major ComEd...(Read Full Post)