Candidates Line Up To File Petitions
Political candidates are lining up outside the State Board of Elections this morning to turn in their nominating petitions early and get a chance at top billing on the Illinois primary ballot. Among those filing will be former State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, who launched her bid yesterday as a GOP comptroller candidate. Cook County Clerk David Orr's office reported that 47 campaigns were in line by 7:40 a.m.

Campaign Finance Tops Veto Session Action
When the fall veto session resumes on Wednesday, a revised campaign finance proposal that surfaced on Friday will be lawmakers' central focus. Legislators are also expected to discuss a solution to the CTA funding crisis that would convert $360 million in capital funding into operations funding over two years.

Bankers Association Meeting Greeted By Protests
Speaking in a downtown hotel conference room before about 500 protesters who traveled to Chicago to target the American Bankers Association's annual meeting, Sen. Dick Durbin called on banks that received billions in bailout money to help consumers facing foreclosure.

Hotels, Union Hit Snag Over Health Insurance
Almost two months after their multi-year agreement expired, UNITE-HERE Local 1 said Friday that contract negotiations for its 6,000 hotelworkers in downtown Chicago and 15,000 hospitality workers in the Chicago area are "very, very far from settlement." The main stickingpoint is over health care benefits.

Post-Olympic Plans Floated In Washington Park
Battered by unemployment, vacancies, and disinvestment, many community organizations on Chicago's South Side are figuring out how to sustain the political muscle developed during negotiations over the city's proposed Olympic stadium.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user 350.org.