Medill Reports, publication of the Graduate School of Journalism at Northwestern University, has this story about Illinois HB 2010, authored by Representative Mike Fortner. His bill lowers the number of signatures for independent candidates substantially, although it makes the petition deadline somewhat more restrictive, and also shrinks the amount of time in which to collect the signatures.

The story also mentions HB 2009, also by Representative Fortner. That bill eases who may qualify to run in a partisan primary, by saying it is immaterial if someone who wants to run in a primary had voted in another party’s primary in the preceding year.

The Alton Daily News has this story about HB 2854, the bill by Representative Jim Watson to completely eliminate mandatory petitions, for candidates who pay a filing fee of 1% of the office’s annual salary. Also see this earlier story about HB 2854 in the Springfield newspaper, the Journal-Register (scroll down).