[Bumped to the top because nothing else is going on. News on the leaders meeting is in green.]
* 9:44 am - The House’s schedule for July was just approved. They’ll be back on Tuesday, July 10th. Senate President Emil Jones has said he won’t return until the following day. Update: The Senate will also return on the 10th.
* 9:51 am - Even though the House has just 87 out of 118 members present today, it was still able to override a gubernatorial veto. The House is now in recess until the Senate takes action on the one-month budget. The Senate is due in at 10.
* 9:59 am - The House’s July schedule is now online.
* 11:09 am - The Senate has just passed the one-month budget.
* 11:13 am - The Senate has adjourned until Tuesday, July 10.
* 11:14 am - The governor is in town and the leaders meeting is scheduled for 11:30. Topic: Schedules going forward.
* 11:37 am - Note to newspaper editors: Before printing guest columns from ostensibly private citizens that repeat the governor’s talking points on the House-passed budget bill and call out individual legislators by name for their votes on that legislation, you might want to check first to see if aforementioned letter-writers are, in reality, professional activists who work for groups that are tied at the hip to the Blagojevich administration. Just saying.
* 12:08 pm - While we’re on the topic of the media, ABC7 sports anchor Jim Rose is emceeing a fundraiser for Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Sounds kinda odd. This isn’t the first time that Rose has done an event with Giannoulias, either.
* 12:12 pm - The leaders meeting is being delayed because Speaker Madigan and Senate President Jones are in negotiations with the electric utilities on the rate relief package.
* 12:13 pm - Sen. Martin Sandoval’s full statement on the overtime session can be downloaded here.
* 12:36 pm - Illinois Family Institute claims “great lull in donations” has led to staffing cuts and reductions in publications, community outreach and its upcoming voter guide.
* 12:58 pm - Speaker Madigan left the electric rates negotiations a few minutes ago saying they had made “substantial progress,” which is what he said a couple of weeks ago.
* 1:17 pm - House GOP Leader Tom Cross walked into the governor’s office not long ago, so the leaders meeting should be starting soon.
* 1:30 pm -Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks is announcing today that he’s supporting Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. Franks has spent the past week or two trying to line up support from his fellow legislators, without much luck. Go figure.
[The update about a special session has been moved here.]