IL: Libertarians Petition for Ballot Access

From the Small Gov Times:

The Libertarian Party of Illinois (“LP Illinois”) will complete the petition drive to get its state-wide and district candidates on the ballot for the 2010 General Election on June 21st in Springfield.  Election law in Illinois requires candidates for “new” political parties, such as Libertarians, to file many times the number of signatures as “established” parties, such as Democrats and Republicans. For example, the petition filing headed by Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Lex Green is required to contain 25,000 registered voter signatures, while Democrats and Republicans are required to file only 5,000. Similarly, Libertarian candidate for the 18th Representative District, Steve Funk, is required to file 2,561 signatures, while a Democratic or Republican opponent needs only 500.