Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:

On The Line
Lydialyle Gibson explores how Chicago agencies serving the poor have dealt with rising demand and shrinking funding during the recession.

The Legality of Health Insurance Mandates
Would an individual health care mandate be unconstitutional? The Beachwood Reporter's Sam Singer ponders the question.

The CTA's New Man
One Story Up blogger Megan Cottrell notes that newly-announced Chicago Transit Authority board chairman Terry Peterson has ties to corruption scandals in the city's public housing department.

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