Barring any changes due to court action, there will be four candidates for the U.S. Senate and five for governor on Illinois’ Nov. 2 ballot.

Randy Stufflebeam of Belleville, who filed to be the Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate, hopes the courts will order his party to be listed on ballots, reversing last week’s decision by the State Board of Elections.

Stufflebeam and the Constitution candidates’ lawyer, Doug Ibendahl of Chicago, said they expect to go to court by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, however, the candidates certified to the ballot include:

A TALE OF TWO RALLIES~ONE SPOKE OF UNITY AND THE OTHER SPOKE OF DIVISION

By: Michele Austin

Two rallies took place last weekend. The messages were about the dreams of all Americans and included references to the historic "I have a dream speech" by the Rev. Martin Luther King but the messengers had completely different outlooks on insuring ALL Americans have equal opportunities to that dream.

At one of the rallies, there were hundreds of thousands of people:
At this event, the main speaker of the event spoke of the importance of all of us to UNITE and to restore GOD in our lives and our families. The speech told of the importance of TRUTH and HONOR. The rally brought clergy together from ALL faiths to stand in solidarity and remind us that we must do more to bring our GOD and FAITH into our lives and the lives of our friends and family. The speech went on to present awards to everyday Americans that have exemplified, FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY and to encourage the enormous crowd to be the next "everyday American" to go above and beyond to make our country a better place.

Durbin throws support behind Ground Zero Mosque

August 30, 2010
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter

Sen. Dick Durbin, the man who could lead the U.S. Senate depending on how November’s elections go, had a strong message for Illinois’ 400,000 Muslims and other residents about the Ground Zero Mosque Monday.

“They are patriotic peace-loving Americans,” Durbin said of Illinois’ Muslims. “They are the doctors who administer your anesthesia; the nurses who care for you in the hospital; the engineers who build the buildings; the people who run the hotels and motels and businesses. If there was ever a time we needed to step up and embrace them and remind them that they are as much a part of America as anyone, it is now.”

Voting twice for Senate OK in Illinois this year

By Deanna Bellandi | Associated Press Writer pantagraph.com | Thursday, July 29, 2010 8:45 pm

CHICAGO -- Vote early, vote often. It's an old joke in Illinois politics but state residents will be choosing twice in November to fill President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.

Gov. Pat Quinn filed paperwork Thursday calling a special election to fill the seat, all because of a long-running lawsuit that says it should have been done almost two years ago. Lawyers headed back to court to hash out who will be on the ballot and try to minimize the confusion for voters.

Illinois State Election Board (WBEZ/file)

Candidates from the Illinois Constitution Party are off the ballot. The state election board ruled Friday they didn't collect enough signatures.

Twenty-five thousand valid signatures are needed to get a slate of candidates on the ballot, and after inspections and hearings, the Constitution Party fell short.

Officially, the objection was filed by a couple of voters: one from west suburban Stickney, and another from Chicago. But Doug Ibendahl, an attorney for the Constitution Party, says the true objector was the Illinois Republican Party.