Michael Sneed reports:

Sneed hears rumbles indictments of some McCormick Place honchos may be imminent. Hmmmm. Does it involve McPier Board contracts?
Gulp!

This will be ugly.

U.S. Senate hopeful Barack Obama, who was ecstatic when former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun pulled out of her bid to recapture her old seat, may still have to hit the bottle of Excedrin.

*The reason: Former lieutenant governor hopeful Joyce Washington is considering entering the Senate fray.

*The extra reason: Moseley-Braun’s exit meant Obama could wake up with at least a guaranteed 32 percent of the Dem primary vote. (Obama, a state senator, was just voted among the top 100 Dem leaders to watch by the national Democratic Leadership Council.

DLC doesn’t have this posted yet. Joyce Washington? One has to wonder if she is a real candidate.

Judy. Judy. Judy. Governor Judy?

Sneed hears the White House views state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, the only Republican to win statewide election, as a formidable candidate for Illinois governor in 2006.

*To wit: Isn’t that one reason Topinka is heading to Washington, D.C., this week, where she will be queried about spearheading the Bush re-election campaign in Illinois? You bet.

Oh, how the conservatives will howl…