The Sun-Times has a solid editorial today on the health care battle in D.C. in which they vocally support the inclusion of a public option in any reform package:

It should be clear why we need radical reform, but in case it isn't, here's a quick rundown.

In Illinois alone, average health insurance premiums for families have shot up nearly 90 percent since 2000. Last year, more than 1.5 million Illinois residents had no health insurance.

And the largest health insurer in the state -- BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois -- holds more than 50 percent of the market, hardly the best competitive situation.

Far from being anti-business, we think the public option is good for business, small ones in particular.

The Sun-Times goes on to dismiss the idea of creating a "trigger" for the public option, which would essentially delay the implementation of the program in order to give the insurance industry a chance to make coverage more affordable.  The editorial board also provides a concise rejection of alternative proposals to create regional health care cooperatives.  Read the whole thing here.