Progress Illinois

For those of us who have been following the U.S. Senate race between State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, yesterday's debate on NBC's Meet The Press didn't really cover new ground. But it did offer the candidates the unique opportunity to make their case for the federal position on national television. Watch it below:

The major party candidates will duel twice more before November 2, in an ABC debate October 19 and on WTTW's Chicago Tonight October 27.

President Obama, in town for an Alexi Giannoulias fundraiser yesterday, had some kind words for the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee. "He's comfortable in his own skin," the president told a group of supporters. "He doesn't shift with the wind. He doesn't pretend to be something that he's not."

The subtext, of course, is U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's recent batch of flip-flops, whether it be on health care strategy, climate change, gay rights, or high-speed rail. It's becoming clear that the self-proclaimed "social moderate and fiscal conservative" throws his convictions out the window if he can gain some edge politically. Giannoulias' latest ad, called "More," hits the Republican hard for his votes on the deficit-busting Bush deficits. Watch it:

American Crossroads, a 527 group founded in March by Karl Rove, is trying to make a big impact during the midterm election cycle. The conservative organization raised $14.5 million in August, money they quickly funneled into several key U.S. Senate races. Illinois' U.S. Senate nominee, U.S. Rep. Mark, has benefited. The group has already aired commercials attacking Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias and they followed up their first effort with another ad buy today. According to Fox Chicago, "their ads are fast paced, the message is often negative and the facts are not always accurate."

There's just one problem: nearly 75 percent of the buy was paid for by undisclosed donors. Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center have now filed a joint complaint with the IRS for allegedly violating U.S. tax laws that limit the political activities of non-profit groups. Kirk has said he hasn't seen the ads. During the Tribune debate yesterday, he also declined to run only positive spots for the remainder of the campaign. In a statement this afternoon, Giannoulias asks whether the congressman will "continue to turn a blind eye to this dirty, corporate-funded machine." It seems like a valid question.