The general consensus seems to be coming down to Phil Hare or John Sullivan and that shapes up as one might expect in that District with The Quad Cities having a candidate and downstate having a candidate (you from Chicago should learn that the Quad Cities are, in fact, not downstate).
The District runs from The Quad Cities to the northern part of Metro St. Louis hitting Greene, Calhoun, Jersey and Macoupin (Greene isn’t a part of the MSA, but the other three are now).
Normally, Springfield and Decatur would have a claim, but the gerrymandering is so severe that a unifed position from either place would be hard to achieve and frankly, not as great as one might think given the way portions of the areas are included and excluded.
Sullivan is more conservative than I prefer on social issues, but of everything I’ve seen, he’s the guy who would turn that into a safe seat starting this cycle. He works hard and he’s probably one of the few people who has the energy and the smarts to be able to hold that District together. If LaHood were to retire before the next cycle or if Dems just play hardball and make a safe Labor seat out of Peoria, the Quad Cities, Galesburg, and maybe Springfield, the rest of the District could be joined to create a Republican seat in rural areas while joining together outstate Democratic votes outside of Metro East.
It would be best if Sullivan remains in the district he lives–LaHood’s–and focuses his attention there. Boland and Schwiebert and Hare are the real alternatives, and from where I live in the southern part of the district, Hare would play the best.