"Yes, people are hurting. That's why we need a tax increase."

Big rally in Springfield, Illinois yesterday at which union demonstrators chanted "Raise my taxes!" to legislators:

Three hundred busloads of people, mostly from AFSCME Council 31, SEIU, the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, converged outside the Capitol while lawmakers were in session.

From the Chicago Tribune account:

"If you try to leave town without doing your job, we're going to chase you," warned union leader Henry Bayer at a rally that drew an estimated 15,000 people — the biggest at the Capitol since the era of the Equal Rights Amendment more than a quarter-century ago.

Speaking of protesters chasing legislators, have you heard about the under-covered case of two people being brutally stomped–I'm talking about leg-broken-in-four-places stomped, broken jaw and brain concussion stomped–after attempting to leave a New Orleans fundraiser for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that had been dogged by particularly aggressive demonstrators? In the absence of much news coverage, Human Events has been following the hell out of the story. Here's the latest.