A federal judge told Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich that "the time for waffling has passed" and that the state needs to develop a plan for paying legal fees in a video-game lawsuit it lost.

The state has until Dec. 18 to say how they play to pay the more than half-million dollar bill.

A year ago the judge ruled that the state's law that barred the sale of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors was unconstitutional and then in August ordered the state to pay the video game industry's legal costs.

Last month industry lawyers asked the judge to intervene because the state wasn't cooperating and the judge decided to do just that.

"They have answered the plaintiffs' entreaties with what amounts to shoulder-shrugging and finger-pointing," Kennelly wrote in an opinion. "Specifically, they have made no real suggestion about what the plaintiffs need to do to collect what they are entitled to, largely leaving that up to one's imagination."

So to summarize, Illinois is run by an idiot. Brian Crecente

Judge wants legal-fee payment plan from Blagojevich [Chicago Tribune]

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