Illinois: John Hartman - We're losing an enormous amount of talent if independents can't get on the ballot

John Hartman of Edwardsville, Ill. has decided to abandon his independent run for Congress because his team cannot meet the petition requirements.
From the Edwardsville Intelligencer:
"But to get on the ballot independents, such as Hartman, are required to collect 15,957 signatures and Hartman said that as of June 12, volunteers had collected less than 10,000. They began collecting on March 28 and had until June 26 to reach their goal. ... [Hartman] cited Pew Research Center research showing that roughly a third of Americans consider themselves Democrats, a third Republicans, and a third say they are independents. "We are losing an enormous amount of talent if a third of our potential leaders are shut out of the political process, not to mention the gross unfairness," he said.
To get on the primary ballot, Democrats needed to gather only 852 signatures while Republicans needed just 951. "Having spoken with about 4,000 people in southern Illinois, I know the people would welcome another choice on the ballot," he said."... [more]