Renacci outraises Sutton
Republican Congressional candidate Jim Renacci raised more money last quarter than Democratic fellow incumbent Betty Sutton in their race to represent the redrawn 16th district. Renacci of Wadsworth raised more than 650-thousand dollars while Sutton of Copley Township raised just under $600,000. But Renacci spent about four times as much money in the quarter that ended September 30th. Both still had more than a million dollars in the bank for the final push to Election Day. The race that pits two incumbents in a redrawn district is one of the most hotly contested in the country with about $5 million spent by outside groups.

Former Cuyahoga County Auditor Russo could be sent to prison soon
Former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo’s top aide has pleaded guilty in federal court to corruption-related crimes. Prosecutors say 46-year-old Samir Mohammad bribed Russo to obtain jobs for others and received a cash kickback from a county contractor. Russo himself pleaded guilty two years ago to taking more than a million dollars in bribes and kickbacks. But he stayed free so he could testify against other defendants.  Prosecutors say he should be reporting to prison within weeks to begin his 22 year sentence. 

School rankings set to be released
Ohioans who have been trying to figure out how their schools performed this past year finally will have the answers today, but they’ll have to dig a bit to find them. At its meeting last week, the State Board of Education decided to go ahead and release the remaining data on its school report cards, including the ratings of each district – from Excellent to Academic Emergency. Due to an investigation by the state auditor into attendance rigging by some districts, only preliminary data had been released earlier this month. And the latest additions still won’t be in a user-friendly spreadsheet format of years past.

Lawsuit alleges people arrested in pre-election weekend can’t vote
A federal lawsuit by several community groups alleges Ohio wrongly denies voting rights for people arrested the weekend before Election Day. The lawsuit filed by the Ohio Justice and Policy Center charges that Ohio makes it impossible for people to vote if they're arrested that weekend and detained through Election Day. The groups want the state ordered to provide a means for those voters to cast ballots. Secretary of State Jon Husted's office says it is reviewing the lawsuit.

Franklin County asks for early voting the Saturday before the election
A central Ohio board of elections is suggesting the state's election chief set early voting hours on the Saturday before the election. Board members in Franklin County, which includes Columbus, agreed Monday to recommend that voting occur from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 3. Secretary of State Jon Husted is accepting boards' recommendations in the midst of a dispute over early voting during the three days before Election Day. Husted has appealed a lower court ruling that reinstates early voting on those days and returns discretion to the boards. He's also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the ruling while it decides whether to take the case.

Michelle Obama rallies supporters in Cleveland
First lady Michelle Obama told supporters across Ohio that they have power to determine who occupies the White House over the next four years. Mrs. Obama challenged backers at Cuyahoga Community College near downtown Cleveland on Monday to convince just a few more people to vote for her husband. She says that his margin of victory in 2008 came down to just 24 voters per precinct in the battleground.

Ryan to speak at Baldwin Wallace Wednesday 
GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan spoke in Cincinnati Monday. He’ll spend more time in Ohio this week. He’ll be joined by former Secretary of State Condoleezza for an event at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea on Wednesday. President Obama will hold a rally in Athens Wednesday.

Hearing scheduled on Youngstown drilling
The city of Youngstown will let the public give input tonight on a plan to lease public land for oil and gas drilling. Youngstown City Council will have a public hearing at 5 p.m. to discuss Mayor Charles Sammarone’s drilling lease plan that he says will fund vacant home demolitions.  There already is majority support on the seven-member council to OK legislation and move forward. The city has about 1,000 vacant homes that need to come down now and has money for about 400 demolitions.

Turnpike tolls may rise in effort to increase profit
State officials may increase tolls and close maintenance facilities as they consider ways to make more money from the Ohio Turnpike. Ohio Department of Transportation deputy director Jim Riley gave an update Monday to the Ohio Turnpike Commission on the progress of a $3 million study of the future of the road. It’s due by the end of the year. Riley says billions could be leveraged by aligning toll increases with inflation, which would fund road projects throughout Northern Ohio. Riley also said that two of the eight turnpike maintenance compounds could be eliminated to save money. Other options include leasing the road to a private company.