Governing from home: Alaska meet Illinois

The Washington Post has a front page story today about "per diem" expenses Governor Sarah Palin billed to Alaskan taxpayers.

ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The Post goes on to report that these expenses are neither unusual, nor did Sarah Palin fully exercise her rights to reimbursement for expenses.

Governor Palin is naturally under the national press microscope, so expect any story about Palin to get coverage. But front page coverage? Meh. Must be a slow news day.

To help compliment a slow news day, here's a look back at some expenses claimed by the current Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. Dude, I commute in an airplane.

But after winning that election in 2002, "Blago" decided to break 150 years of precedent by choosing not to live in the governor's mansion. Instead, he and his family chose to continue living on Chicago's Northwest Side.