IL: Tea Party Independent Steps Up in Race for State House

From the Lake Forester:

An independent candidate hopes to make a late entrance in the race for the 58th District seat in the Illinois House. Mike Clark, a business owner from Lake Bluff, wants to unseat Democratic state Rep. Karen May of Highland Park . . . Clark said he needs to file 2,970 petition signatures to join the ballot in November. He said last week he has about a third of that total, with two months until the deadline . . . 

He decided to run for office in January, motivated in part by the national Tea Party movement as well as the financial crisis facing Illinois government. “I think there is an opening for independents,” he said. “I don't see anyone stepping up, either Republican or Democrat, to improve the business climate in Illinois.”