Whose faker—ComEd or Pat Quinn?

Anne Leary has it right about today's breathless Tribune story that "unmasks" a fake grass roots organization as a front group for ComEd. Duh.

Did anybody really think those commercials appeared because a couple of neighbors were talking over the fence and decided to spend a couple of million dollars?

I know where ComEd is coming from. And I'd say ComEd has a point that long-range energy policy of the state shouldn't be decided by populist politicians who know they can always grab a headline by bashing a utility.

What about Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, who predictably is quoted in the story as saying ComEd is being deceptive running the TV commercials. Where does he really stand?

Quinn said the ads give the appearance that a grass-roots group is behind them. "It's corporate money trying to hoodwink the public," he said.

This is the same Pat Quinn who has built a career criticizing political corruption yet he ran on a ticket headed by a governer under nine separate state and federal corruption investigations.

And it's the same Pat Quinn who just gained re-election on the strength of that governor's TV commercials. The parent company of the same utility Pat Quinn just ripped helped fund those commercials with $20,000 in donations to his ticket mate since 2005 and $59,000 overall.

Another downstate utility kicked in another $15,000 to Quinn's ticket mate during the recent stretch run a few weeks ago leading to Quinn's re-election.

You tell me who is the bigger phony — ComEd or Pat Quinn?

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