Talks about a state capital building plan are still occurring in Springfield, although it's hard to see much progress.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has requested the assistance of Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard and former U.S. Speaker of the House Denny Hastert to work on the project.

The original plan was for a $25 billion project. Recently, lawmakers have been talking about a smaller plan that would build and repair roads, build and repair local school buildings and buildings at the state's universities and colleges. But the cost of the plan may not be the real issue.

Paying for the plan is also a thorny issue, but it may not be the toughest issue to overcome.

Rich Miller, who writes the political insider newsletter The Capital Fax, hit on the real issue recently.

It's trust.

Few legislators trust Blagojevich to spend the money fairly and equitably. It's hard to blame the legislators.

Take, as one example, the coal gasification plant to be built behind the Decatur Caterpillar Inc. factory. Secure Energy Inc. was promised $14 million in state funds for the plant, which would develop ways to use Illinois coal. But the money isn't there. The money apparently was moved from the coal development fund to the Transportation Department and then "moved to Northern Illinois for regional transportation improvements," according to Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion.

It's safe to assume that Northern Illinois is Chicago and that transportation improvements are bailing out the city's financially troubled mass transit system. What adds insult to injury in Flider's case is that he supported the governor on the mass transit system bailout, only to find out later that the governor shifted funds around and took funds away from an important project in Flider's district.

Multiply those types of shenanigans by the number of members in the General Assembly, and it's easy to see why trust is a major issue.

In fact, one of the problems with the state's roads is that Blagojevich has regularly moved money out of the roads fund and into the general fund.

There have been a couple of alternatives suggested to allowing Blagojevich to decide where the capital funds will be spent. One is to allow either State Comptroller Dan Hynes or Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias to decide where the funds are spent. But both of those officials have political ties that would make their decisions susceptible to complaints of playing favorites.

It's also been suggested that the four legislative leaders make the decisions, although that has overtones of politics as well. Despite those difficulties, either option would be better than Blagojevich.

Maybe this is a decision that cannot be trusted to the politicians. Perhaps the state needs an independent board to decide which projects are funded.

The lack of trust is understandable but unfortunate.

The state needs a capital improvement program to repair roads and buildings. A capital program also will create jobs, which, given the current economy, is equally important.

The General Assembly has until the end of the month to get a plan approved during the regular session. It's possible the issue could be pushed back until the veto session in November. But the state needs a capital plan sooner rather than later.

The General Assembly and the governor need to figure out a way to get this done.