The field for next year's Cook County Board President race continues to get a little smaller. Cook County Assessor James Houlihan announced today he wouldn't be running for the office after all. So far, the field against Todd Stroger consists of Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) - read our interview with her, Part 1 and Part 2 - and others either in or considering a run include: U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, Clerk of the Court Dorothy Brown, Commissioner Larry Suffredin and Sheriff Tom Dart. [Sun-Times] more ›

Forget the Governor's race or the stampede to oust Sen. Burris. One race that's just as intriguing that's heating up for the next election seems to be for the Cook County Board President's spot. Incumbent Todd Stroger's list of opponents seems to have grown longer with the addition of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who has announced he is forming an exploratory committee to look into running for the position. Said Davis, "One could say that Cook County government, after the illness and death of President John Stroger, has experienced a crisis in leadership." If Davis jumps into the fray, he'll join Tony Preckwinkle (who we recently interviewed - keep your eyes peeled for that one) and Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown, both of whom have already announced their candidacy for the spot. Republican commissioner Tony Peraica, who ran against Storger in 2006, has yet to announce if he'll run though Demorcat Forrest Claypool has already announced he won't run, instead completely leaving the Board. [CBS 2] more ›

• Police have arrested a man in connection with an attempted assault on a doctor in her office earlier this week; the man was turned in by his girlfriend.
• Has Mayor Daley ditched Stroger for Preckwinkle in the upcoming Cook County Board President race?
• A quick thinking paramedic helped save a woman who suffered a heart attack at the Taste of Chicago earlier today.