Race, Tax, and Election

-- Illinois lawmakers voted on taxes on tobacco products, and passed the bill.  The Illinois taxes were up by 67% in 2011, and the state aims to ensure funding for such spending as medicaid.

-- Romney is to be formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate for November 2012 election as he won the Texas primary on Tuesday.

-- The murder disparity over races is such that 93% of all homicides in whose victims were the African Americans are carried by members of the same racial communities.

"We are such an international, diverse community - but segregated. "