The 2010 Illinoise Senate Race

The Illinois Senate race is for the seat that was originally held by President Obama and was vacated when he won the 2008 presidential election. This is also the Senate seat that was mired in controversy when then Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was in control of the replacement candidate selection, attempted to sell the seat and was caught on tape. This, combined with the other offenses that initiated them, was recorded by Federal agent wire taps and led to Blagojevich’s impeachment. Before he was removed from office however, he named Roland Burris to the seat. Burris was seated after protest from Senate members and has decided not to run for re-election.

The Republican and Democratic primaries were held on February 2, and United States Congressman Mark Kirk was chosen by the Republicans while the Democrats chose Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. A Rasmussen poll taken 2 days after the primary shows Kirk with a slight lead.

Mark Kirk was born in 1959 and was raised in Illinois, attending a university in Mexico before graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s, the London School of Economics with a Master’s and a law degree from Georgetown University. After graduation, he worked for Congressman John Porter, making his way to chief of staff. He also practiced law before becoming Counsel to the House of Representatives International Relations Committee. He also joined the Naval Reserve in 1989 as an intelligence officer and has served several missions during his time in the reserves. He recently returned from a second stint in Afghanistan.

Kirk was elected to fill the Congressional seat vacated by John Porter in 2000 and has been re-elected four times. During his time in Congress, he has been a member, and is co-chair, of the “Tuesday Group,” a collection of 40 moderate House Republicans. According to his campaign website, Kirk is committed to an agenda that is “pro-defense, pro-personal responsibility, pro-environment, and pro-science.” His Congressional record supports that stance.

During the Republican Senate primaries, challenger and radio talk show personality Andy Martin alleged that Kirk is a homosexual and has had a live-in relationship with a man. Kirk is single, having been recently divorced from his wife of 8 years, and has no children. Kirk has denied the allegations and there is no proof that they are true. He is being labeled as a “Washington insider” by his Democratic opponent.

Alexi Giannoulias was born in 1976 and grew up in Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago before graduating from Boston University. His college basketball skills allowed him to play professionally in Greece for a year before returning to attend Tulane University, where he earned a law degree. He then moved back to Chicago to work as a Senior Loan Officer in the family-owned Broadway Bank. He has chaired several business and charitable boards and founded the AG Foundation to assist in disaster relief, reduce poverty and give money toward treating child-related illnesses.

In 2006, Giannoulias ran for and won the office of Treasurer of Illinois. Upon taking office, he quickly signed an executive order for a wide-ranging and comprehensive ethics package for his office. His most notable achievement was his turnaround of the state’s Bright Start college savings program. Prior to his taking office, the state’s program ranked 47 out of 48. In 2008, one of the 21 funds that were part of the portfolio began experiencing heavy losses. Oppenheimer Funds, who was managing the fund, was investigated by several states that had done business with them and the state of Illinois was the first to issue subpoenas on the matter.  In April 2009, Consumer Reports examined college savings programs around the nation and “found five that are worthy of an A,” naming Bright Start as one of those five. Kiplinger’s chose the fund in December of 2009 as one of the best plans in the country.

Giannoulias is being accused by state Republican ads as giving loans to organized crime while at Broadway Bank and figures like prominent slum lord Tony Rezko. While Mr. Rezko received loans from Broadway Bank, among others, Giannoulias was not the officer for any of those loans nor is there any proof of the allegations. The Republican ads are also calling his handling of the Bright Start fund into question, allegations that also have not been proven to be true.