The September 28 State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois, has this op-ed, criticizing Illinois ballot access laws. The op-ed is by Robert Gray, who was named the city’s citizen of the year a while ago, and who is President of the Citizens Club of Springfield. His op-ed describes the dirty tricks used against him when he tried to run as an independent.

Illinois requires a higher percentage of signatures for state legislative offices than any states other than Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kansas. For U.S. House, Illinois is third highest, behind only Georgia and North Carolina.