In front of his childhood home in Kennilworth this morning, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk is scheduled to announce his 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate.  In honor of the occasion, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias released the following statement:

“If Mark Kirk and I are the respective nominees of our parties, then voters will have a clear choice: go backwards to the reckless Bush-Cheney fiscal policies Kirk supported that cost this state hundreds of thousands of jobs and created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, or move forward to fundamentally change our economy and create the next generation of good jobs here in Illinois.

“I believe in fair trade, an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, and tax cuts for middle-class families. Mark Kirk takes the opposite view. He voted to give tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, but against cracking down on China’s unfair trade practices. He voted for a massive bailout of the biggest banks in the country, but against raising the minimum wage. Mark Kirk voted against middle-class tax cuts by opposing President Obama’s economic recovery plan, but supported George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest. It’s a simple choice between the failed past or a promising future – a clear choice between the right course and the wrong one.”

Over the weekend, Giannoulias also announced that Rep. Mike Quigley had endorsed his candidacy.  From a release:

"We are at a crucial moment in our state and in our country, and as we've seen, people are tired of business-as-usual and ready for fresh leadership,” Quigley said. “We're facing two wars and a recession while people are losing their jobs and their homes.  Big problems demand big change, and Alexi gets it.  I'm proud to endorse Alexi Giannoulias to be our party's candidate for the U.S. Senate. We've got a lot of work to do, so I hope others will join me to support his path to Washington."

Beyond Quigley, Giannoulias added the following names to his list of endorsements:

State Representative Daniel Burke
State Senator Arthur Berman (Ret.)
Chicago Alderman John Pope
Chicago Alderman Ariel Reboyras
Rock Island County Chairwoman Lu Ann Kerr
Menard County Chairwoman Sandy Klein
Washington County Chairman Tony Mayville
Saline County Chairman William McCluskey
Madison County Chairman Matt Melucci
DeWitt County Chairman Terry Redman
Fayette County Chairman Maurice Trexler
Macon County Chairman Jim Underwood
Richland County Democrats

Meanwhile, in her latest Sun-Times column, Laura Washington looks at efforts in the African-American community to find viable candidates for statewide office and makes an observation about Giannoulias' list of endorsements:

The Big Domino is off the table. Burris has demurred. Yet there's still only one announced Senate aspirant. Giannoulias has $1.65 million in his campaign war chest and 60 elected officials on board. His list of endorsers includes a few African-American players such as state Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne, who brings a diverse Downstate power base; state Sen. Kwame Raoul, a rising star based in Hyde Park, and Larry Rogers, a Cook County Board of Review commissioner.

Just a handful. Giannoulias has not corralled one black congressman, alderman or committeeman.

Wonder what they're all waiting for?