More endorsement news from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Alexi Giannoulias received the support of Secretary of State Jesse White yesterday. From a release:

"Alexi is taking pro-active steps to ensure that future generations are well-equipped and have the necessary tools to find good-paying jobs after graduation," said White, who has dedicated much of his life to public service and helping at-risk kids make the right choices and succeed in life. "I'm proud to support my friend Alexi, who has a proven record of saving and creating jobs and is the only Democrat in the race with a comprehensive plan to turn our economy around."

At the endorsement event, Giannoulias also detailed the sixth installment of his "Future Works" economic plan.  This particular component creates incentives -- in both the education and business sectors -- to encourage innovation.

Meanwhile, David Hoffman received some labor support from the Illinois Education Association, whose membership includes 133,000 teachers across the state.  From a release:

"We were very impressed by David Hoffman. His intelligence and commitment to public education make him our strong choice for the Democratic nomination," said IEA President Ken Swanson. [...]

"I share a vision with the IEA to provide high-quality education for all children. That includes high expectations for students, academic programs which are both rigorous and creative, proper support for teachers and their classrooms to encourage innovation and dedication, and a supportive school environment," said Hoffman. "I am honored to receive their endorsement."

Hoffman also made some media appearances over the weekend.  He showed up on WFLD's Fox Chicago Sunday, which you can watch below:

He was also a guest on WBBM's At Issue, hosted by Craig Dellimore and the Daily Herald's Joe Ryan.  Listen here.  Furthermore, the Tribune's Mary Schmich wrote about an interesting -- and high-tech -- campaign tactic being employed by the Hoffman camp.

In other news, Cheryle Jackson released a five-point jobs plan this morning:

The Jackson plan covers incentives to small businesses to create new jobs, redirecting tax breaks from multinational corporations that ship jobs out of the country to businesses that create jobs in the U. S., reforming Small Business Administration (SBA) rules to get desperately needed capital to small businesses, increasing job training funds available to community colleges, community groups and small businesses, and reorienting stimulus spending to focus on job creation in local communities and in energy efficiency and clean energy jobs.

And Jacob Meister is fighting to appear in the debate being conducted by WTTW this week, even threatening to file an injunction against them if they exclude him:

Jacob Meister, Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, has been informed that WTTW intends to exclude him from its United States Senate debate scheduled for Wednesday, January 20. Meister’s campaign has communicated with Chicago Tonight Supervising Producer Jay Smith about including Meister in the debate. All candidates who meet FCC guidelines must be included, according to the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC regulations,  which outline equal access provisions. [...]

Unless WTTW notifies Meister by the close of business Monday that he will be permitted to participate in the televised debate, his campaign will file a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday seeking an injunction against the station. 

While Meister's fight to appear is understandable, it's doubtful he'll have much luck in court. The "Equal Time" rule cited in the above release includes an exemption for what is described as "on-the-spot news events."  Historically, televised debates have qualified as "on-the-spot."  Therefore, it has not been considered a violation of the law for participating news organizations to exclude certain candidates from these forums.

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.