* Mayoral debate: Kids’ questions more revealing than pols’ answers

* Chicago mayoral candidates address childhood bullying at student forum - 3 mayoral hopefuls say they were bullied as a child

* Students question candidates for mayor

* In Mayoral Forum, It’s the Students Who Impress

* Debate strategy for mayoral rivals: Go after Rahm Emanuel: Braun replied, “No. Tampons. Let’s talk about Tampons. I don’t go to the NRA. This isn’t about guns. This is about Tampons and how women would feel about somebody who said that in the workplace.”

* Braun, Walls Spar at Mayoral Forum: Braun: “You have run for mayor, you have run for senate … No body knows what you’re doing. Let’s get some honesty.” Walls: “State the facts, state the facts. You got ran out of office.”

* Moseley Braun, Walls exchange heated words

* VIDEO: Carol Moseley Braun & Dock Wall heat up

* Poll: Transit Is A Major Mayoral Issue

* Black wards adding more voters, while Hispanic wards lag behind: In just 10 weeks since the November midterm elections, every ward in the city showed a jump in the number of registered voters, indicating a high level of interest in the upcoming mayoral contest.

* A New Beginning For 29th Ward

* Blagojevich trial hangs over Rahm’s campaign: Another mayoral candidate, Gery Chico, had his own Blagojevich issue. The Sun-Times has reported that Chico hosted a fund-raiser for Blagojevich the night before he was arrested. Chico told the Sun-Times he is a Democrat so it is not surprising he would host a fund-raiser for the state’s Democratic governor.

* Bill Clinton in Chicago to campaign for Emanuel

* Ethical questions arise about county ethics board

* Oak Lawn petition full of forgeries, officials say - 84 percent of signatures to eliminate village manager’s post might be invalid

* The theoretical half-life of Bill Foster’s political career

* Lipinski tells Southwest to pick up the pace

* Illinois disciplinary flaws highlighted in doctor’s sex case - State missed convicted physician’s admission of at least 3 sexual relationships with patients

* Champaign considers natural gas tax

* 13 fewer deputies on the job after layoffs: On the day 13 St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department deputies were laid off because of a budget impasse, a lawyer for the Fraternal Order of Police said no negotiations are scheduled to try to get them back on the beat.

* Workers get big boost from overtime

* The Alton Telegraph: 175 Years of Service

* Springfield inexpensive place to live, studies show: Using 100 as the national average, Springfield rated an 86. The figures for other Illinois communities were: Chicago, 113; Kankakee, 100; Peoria, 100; Champaign-Urban, 98; Bloomington-Normal, 97; Decatur, 93; Rockford, 91; Danville, 89; and East St. Louis area, 87. According to local economic development groups and the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the relatively low cost of electricity from City, Water Light and Power is a major factor in the Springfield figure.

* Fix is in for Capitol offices: Senate Republicans are flooded out of their third-floor Capitol offices for the next two weeks, even as senators and staff are gearing up for the start of a new session. About two dozen GOP staff members will have to be relocated to other areas of the Capitol complex while workers dry out offices soaked by a sprinkler system pipe that broke last week.

* Chef creates ‘invasivore‘ dinner, but experts say that’s not the way to halt finned intruders