Political links: Brady releases tax return, Blagojevich hits up the prez, Durbin gets dissed

Tax season's over, and it's almost spring in Illinois. But the politics here ain't all roses.

As Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady flashes his tax return to reporters, Democratic former governor Rod Blagojevich calls on the president to testify at his trial. Meanwhile, it seems Dick Durbin left the White House empty handed after trying to help his friend, Alexi Giannoulias.

Here's a summary of those developments and other recent Illinois political news:

• Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady said he would release his tax return for three hours today in Springfield, prompting questions about such strict limitations (Current).
• Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich filed a legal motion (CBS2) Thursday asking for President Obama to testify at the impeached governor’s corruption trial. Lo and behold, cutting and pasting the brief un-redacted the blacked-out portions (Capitol Fax).
• Sen. Dick Durbin slipped into the West Wing last week to ask Rahm Emanuel for White House help in saving Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. But he didn’t leave with any ironclad commitments (Politico).
• Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks called on legislators, including members of his own party, "to put a stop unchecked spending (Tribune)."
• Gov. Pat Quinn backed off a proposal to tax music and video downloads (Tribune) to help balance the state budget, saying Thursday he still believes raising the income tax is the best way to generate money.