About an hour before the special session convened, Gov. Rell called legislative leaders into her office. Attending were Senate President Pro Tem Don Williams, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, House Minority Leader Bob Ward and Senate Majority Leader Lou DeLuca. Noticeably absent was the Speaker of the House James Amann, who was said to have a conflicting appointment. He did arrive at the Capitol as the meeting in the governor's office was proceeding.

Following the meeting, the legislative leaders met with the press outside the governor's office where Sen. Williams stated that campaign finance reform would gets its day at the legislature -- along with several other issues -- later in the month. Rep. Amann at a press conference also echoed the same sentiments and stating that campaign finance reform is an issue that must be addressed.

In what was the first caucus meeting on campaign finance reform since the close of the regular legislative session, the Senate Democrats met and discussed campaign finance reform. Although the meeting was said to be lively, with many views being presented, Senate leadership reiterated its commitment to raise campaign finance reform during a special session.

As both the House and Senate recessed to discuss the legislative options, the Yale Students for Clean Elections held a press conference on the north steps of the Capitol, attended by Sens. Don DeFronzo (D) and Ed Meyer (D), and Reps. Chris Caruso (D) and Diana Urban (R). The roughly 20 students from Yale, which has produced its share of American leaders - presidents, senators and congressmen, received attention from several TV stations and newspapers.

What was rumored to be a short, "gavel-in, gavel-out" session actually turned out to last longer than anyone expected. Democrats hoped to adjourn the special session and call another special session at a later date, while Republicans objected, demanding that the Legislature remain technically "in session." Ultimately, in a party-line vote, the Democrats prevailed, and the governor's special session was closed. The Senate and House passed a call for special session to occur in late October.