If I had a dime for every time Governor Rod Blagojevich showed up late, I'd be retired and living on my family's ancestral farm in Puerto Rico.

But alas the only recompense for the governor's tardiness is an unwelcome spike in my blood pressure.

Today more than a hundred folks are waiting in a sweltering shack on the West Side for the governor to announce a summer jobs program for young people, at the same time he's planning more than a billion dollars in cuts to the state budget, something most see as a scare tatic to get his nemesis, House Speaker Mike Madigan to give him what he wants.

Anyone watching might notice these sort of announcements of help to targeted constituencies seem to come at curious times, often after bad news (like maybe his pal Tony Rezko's conviction).

But back to punctuality or lack thereof.

For those keeping score the gov was 38 minutes late today and that's not including the half hour by which he pushed the event back.