Alexi Giannoulias

IL-SEN: New Videos Abound!

Adam Doster — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:31:03 -0800

All four Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Democratic have produced new videos in the last few days. Let's take a look, shall we?

The first comes from David Hoffman, who cut a highlight reel from a forum held by the Northern Illinois Coordinated Campaign Committee in Rockford on Sunday. In the clip, Hoffman discusses the economy, banking reform, the federal deficit, and Afghanistan:

The Hoffman campaign also released a new polling memo this week that The Hill, the Washington Post, and Politico all picked up. While pollster Geoff Garin took pains to argue that Alexi Giannoulias too "flawed" a candidate to beat GOP Rep. Mark Kirk in the general election, the underlying data is similar to other polls we've seen so far (Kirk leads Giannoulias 40-37 percent, but out-distances Hoffman -- whose name identification is at only 26 percent -- by 10 points.) Here's what Giannoulias campaign manager Tom Bowen had to say to the Post's Chris Cilliza:

"Every public poll shows Alexi Giannoulias leading or neck-in-neck with Mark Kirk while David Hoffman is trailing badly. ... He is behind, desperate and now he is running a negative and dishonest campaign, preferring to attack fellow Democrats instead of telling us what he would do in the Senate."

Speaking of the Giannoulias, he earned an endorsement from Illinois' own U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky on Sunday. In this video clip from the press conference, the congresswoman said Giannoulias would be a strong voice for health care reform in the Senate. Watch it:

Health care was also on the mind of Cheryle Jackson, who filmed a short video from Washington D.C. in which she said she was "stupefied by Stupak," the anti-choice amendment slipped into the House reform bill:

Lastly, Jacob Meister has released a video documenting his 32-hour campaign trip through Central Illinois and the Quad Cities:

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

New Campaign Vids: Quinn, Hamos, Giannoulias, Hoffman

Josh Kalven — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:20:08 -0800

Lots of new campaign advertisements and web videos out in the past few days. Here's a rundown ...

Gov. Pat Quinn has a new ad out, titled "Finally," which hit the airwaves yesterday, according to Capitol Fax:

After yesterday's fiery debate in Rockford, the Quinn campaign also released this clip from the governor's remarks (under the title: "Quinn wins at Rockford Forum"):

You can read the Hynes campaign's take on the debate here.

In the 10th Congressional District primary, Julie Hamos is airing a new biographical spot on the cable airwaves:

U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias also has a new web ad up today, highlighting how the treasurer's Employ Illinois program helped a Springfield child care center create jobs:

Finally, fellow Senate candidate David Hoffman offers up some clips from his recent meet-and-greet at a bar in Aurora:

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

IL-SEN: Schakowsky Endorses Giannoulias, DSCC Whacks Kirk (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:21:01 -0800

The latest from the 2010 U.S. Senate race ...

Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Jan Schakowksy announced her endorsement of State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary. When they rolled out Rep. Luis Gutierrez' backing a week earlier, the campaign used the occasion to highlight Giannoulias' position on the need for stronger financial regulation. This time, the topic was health care. From a release:

"Alexi Giannoulias is the best candidate to retain President Obama's seat because he has the courage to take on powerful interests and stand up for Illinois families," Schakowsky said. "He supports health-insurance reform that will reign in the soaring costs of premiums and protect families from losing coverage during these difficult economic times." [...]

"Jan and I believe in a simple proposition: if you pay your premiums your insurance company should cover you - no exceptions, no caps, no limits," Giannoulias said. "Mark Kirk disagrees. He believes in protecting insurance companies, not protecting people."

Giannoulias has now racked up endorsements from five of the state's congressional Democrats (Reps. Bill Foster, Mike Quigley, and Phil Hare are also supporting him). Meanwhile, Cheryle Jackson is the only other candidate in the race to receive backing from members of Congress (Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis).

Elsewhere on Sunday, Giannoulias skipped a debate held in Rockford, which Jackson, David Hoffman, and Jacob Meister all attended. ABC 7 has a report on their comments regarding Afghanistan. (All three "expressed deep doubts ... about sending more troops.)

In other news, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a clever web ad today hitting GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for his shifting positions on Sarah Palin. Watch it:

And in a blog post on Friday, Gianoullias campaign manager Tom Bowen notes that Kirk's latest poll was conducted on a single day and not handled by his campaign pollster:

So, if you're releasing a one-day sample poll that is known to be unreliable, you juice it by running it on November 3rd and it's not done by your real pollster, how accurate can it be? My guess is that he's trying to distract from the real numbers in this race, which look a lot more like the ones we released.

Jackson appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday over the weekend, where she continued to cast herself as "a regular everyday person" and repeatedly emphasized her belief in the need to support small businesses (scroll down for the full video). When asked about Giannoulias' polling lead, she responded: "I think the question is: Why hasn't he locked it up by now, being in the race six months?" At one point, co-host Jack Conaty asked her whether she supported sending more troops to Afghanistan. Jackson's answer was pretty shaky, leading him to end the segment with this quip, "We're going to give you an exit strategy." (We'll add the video if and when Fox Chicago posts it to their website.)

Hoffman also hit the airwaves, showing up on ABC 7's Newsviews yesterday (scroll down for the full video). He continued to pitch himself as the candidate least likely to attract corruption-related attacks from the GOP in the general election:

HOFFMAN: There is no question that it is going to be a risky year for Democrats for a variety of reasons. I think the press has been very consistent about this: that there are vulnerabilities that are very strong on the Democratic side. And the main reason is the corruption scandals: the Blagojevich issue and others. And what people have been saying is that we need a nominee in the Senate ... who just takes the corruption issue off the table.

It should be clear to people that, whatever Republicans want to say, they won't be able to talk about corruption or ethics issues or tie me in any way to Blagojevich or Rezko. I just take those off the table. I have no connections to them and I've been a leader in helping to fight against corruption.

This argument is quite reminiscent of the case made by Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. She incessantly warned that Barack Obama's connections to Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers and Jeramiah Wright would give the Republicans far too much ammunition in the general election. We all know how that turned out ...

Finally, late last week, Meister released his policy platform. You can read it below:

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): Here's the full video of Jackson's WFLD appearance:

And here's the full video of Hoffman's ABC 7 video:

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

IL-SEN: Jackson's Poll, Giannoulias' New Site, Hoffman's Downstate Swing

Adam Doster — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:51:36 -0800

Here's the latest news in the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate:

Cheryle Jackson released an internal poll yesterday, the results of which are consistent with surveys conducted by independent outfits and other campaigns: Alexi Giannoulias holds a healthy lead but plenty of primary voters are still undecided. From the memo, obtained by Capitol Fax:

If the election were held today, “undecided” would win the race, claiming 45% of the vote, with the candidates’ current positions relating largely to name ID. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias starts out with 31% of the vote (just 16% of which is strong support), followed by Cheryle Jackson at 13% (7% strong). David Hoffman and Jacob Meister each draw support in the single digits (8% and 2%, respectively

Jackson also includes data showing that support for her campaign doubles once the candidates' positive messages are read, vaulting her into the lead. As usual, those types of results should be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, when David Hoffman informed voters of his background in his campaign's first public poll last month, his support jumped almost 30 percentage points. But as Rich Miller noted in his SouthtownStar column, the description offered to respondents "paint[ed] the man as almost a superhero."

Meanwhile, Giannoulias unveiled a new campaign website today. Like Hoffman's recently-revamped site, it includes a bunch of interesting bells and whistles. The campaign is making a serious effort to embrace the blogging community -- not surprising when you consider that Georgia Logothetis (otherwise known has DailyKos front-pager "Georgia10") is the campaign's director of new media. To this end, they've included issue-specific RSS feeds, blogable pictures, and a fairly-clean mobile interface. Their issue pages also feature related content. And the site's own blog is pretty spiffy. Have a look around here.

The fourth candidate in the race, attorney and self-funder Jacob Meister, is officially the first of the Democratic contentders to go on air with a television ad. Here's the spot, which chronicles his trip to Springfield to file his nominating petitions:

ABC 7 reports that the ad is airing in Champaign, Springfield, and Peoria.

Meanwhile, Hoffman is continuing to churn out some well-produced campaign videos. The newest one highlights his visits last Sunday to Alton (his wife's hometown) and Fairview Heights:

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

IL-SEN: Gutierrez Endorses Giannoulias, Hoffman Unveils Economic Plan

Josh Kalven — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:56:26 -0800

Lots of action among the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate these past few days.

Alexi Giannoulias has received the endorsement of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Illinois Reps. Phil Hare, Mike Quigley, and Bill Foster previously announced their support). In a statement yesterday, Gutierrez said the Giannoulias "consistently fights for the middle class, represents people over special interests and will move our country forward by empowering working families." In turn, Giannoulias praised the Chicago congressman's vote against a ten-year-old piece of legislation that ultimately paved the way for the financial crisis:

Giannoulias said he agreed with Gutierrez's vote against the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 that allowed investment banks, commercial banks and insurance firms to create institutions that were "too big to fail" and mix government-insured savings with risky investments.

"Financial deregulation in Washington and pure greed on Wall Street led to the collapse of our financial system," Giannoulais said. "Congressman Gutierrez had the common sense to vote against deregulation. Now we hope to work together in Congress to fix what's wrong with our financial sector, restore accountability and oversight to the industry and prevent these speculative binges and high-wire gambles so taxpayers aren't left footing the bill."

On Friday, David Hoffman rolled out his economic plan. But that news got overshadowed by his baseless claim that Giannoulias broke a campaign pledge not to accept corporate PAC money by taking $500 from the Community Bankers Association. In fact, as the Tribune pointed out, the Giannoulias campaign never cashed the check, opting to return it instead.

Yesterday, the Giannoulias campaign said that Hoffman "owes Alexi an apology." This morning, they got their wish:

On Sunday, Michael Powell, Hoffman’s campaign manager, issued an apology to Tom Bowen, Giannoulias’s campaign manager —- but also used it to ask for a series of debates.

“It was an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless,” Powell wrote. “For that, we apologize to the Giannoulias campaign. We believe there should be a vigorous debate in this campaign, but it should always be based on an honest discussion of the facts and an accurate airing of our differences.”

The Hoffman campaign went on to invite Giannoulias to agree to five public debates before primary day (February 2).

Meanwhile, here is a summary of Hoffman's economic plan, which includes the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency and the passage of a national interest rate cap:

A more detailed rundown of the various proposals is available on his website.

Giannoulias has so far announced the two components of his five-part economic plan. The campaign expects to roll out the rest in the coming weeks.

Finally, as we noted earlier, both Cheryle Jackson and Giannoulias spoke out over the weekend in opposition to the abortion restrictions included in the House health care reform bill.

Friday Videos: "Kirk Going Rogue ... On Himself," Hamos' First Ad

Josh Kalven — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:50 -0800

There are two new campaign ads out this afternoon.

First up, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' campaign has a new web video slamming GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for seeking Sarah Palin's support:

On a related note, the Sun-Times editorial board criticized the North Shore Republican this morning in a piece headlined "Moving right might cost Kirk election."

Next is 10th Congressional District candidate Julie Hamos, who released her first TV spot today. Health care is the theme. "Let's not let this moment in history pass us by," she says about the prospect of reform. Watch it:

Speaking of health care, United Power for Action and Justice and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law have published a new video featuring two physicians explaining why they believe reform is necessary. Watch it:

IL-SEN: Giannoulias Responds To Gay Marriage Defeat In Maine

Angela Caputo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:15:26 -0800

Back in September, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias became the first major statewide candidate in Illinois history to speak up in support of gay marriage. Since then, raising the profile of the civil rights abuses leveled against the GLBT community has become a central theme of his U.S. Senate campaign. Indeed, the Chicago Democrat has already pledged to help repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy if he is sent to Congress.

So it's not surprising that Giannoulias was quick to respond to the news that Maine voters yesterday repealed same-sex marriage rights at the ballot box -- a stinging defeat for the gay rights community. From his statement this morning:

The march toward marriage equality was dealt a setback yesterday, and I am disappointed with the results. But we know that change never comes easy. I believe strongly that we cannot give up hope, that we must not stop moving forward, and that no matter how difficult the setback, we must never stop fighting for people to be treated equally under the law.

The defeat in Maine has some gay-rights advocates already rethinking their strategy at the state level. Even though state lawmakers like Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) continue to push for equal marriage laws here in the Prairie State, additional focus is likely to shift to Congress, where the federal same-sex marriage ban could be reversed without voter approval. Already, Giannoulias has indicated that if sent to D.C., he's ready to do his part to end these retrograde policies. "This goes to what this country was founded on," Giannoulias recently told the Sun-Times Mark Brown, "equality and fairness."

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

IL-SEN: Giannoulias Releases Poll, Jackson Files,

Josh Kalven — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:05:35 -0800

Since entering the U.S. Senate race, former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman has repeatedly suggested that fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias can't beat GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk in the general election. Today, the Giannoulias campaign released a poll that indicates, if the election were held today, their candidate would fare better against Kirk than Hoffman. Here is the pair of head-to-head results (the only data made available by the Giannoulias camp):

Giannoulias: 46%
Kirk: 43%

Hoffman: 39%
Kirk: 48%

*Results based on a sample of 805 likely general election voters conducted October 25th – 28th. Margin of error: +/- 3.5%

A Rasmussen poll conducted in mid-September found somewhat similar results: Giannoulias and Kirk tied at 41 percent and Kirk leading Hoffman by 10 percentage points. Rasmussen also had Kirk leading Democrat Cheryle Jackson by four points.

Speaking of Jackson, she filed her nominating petitions just an hour before the deadline today.

And last week Hoffman became the second candidate, after Giannoulias, to make a pit stop at the White House to discuss the race with Obama aides.

And for what it's worth, Kirk told the Tribune that he "expects" to be running against Giannoulias in the general election next year:

“I’m going to confine my campaign to earning the Republican nomination on Feb. 2 and then there is plenty of time for a general election,” Kirk said. “I expect it will be Giannoulias, but you know what? My job is to win the support of my fellow Republicans.”

IL-SEN: Giannoulias Draws "Stark Contrast" With Kirk On Economic Policy

Adam Doster — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:45:54 -0700

Painting what he described as a "stark contrast" between his platform and the policies endorsed by Republican Senate frontrunner Mark Kirk, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias rolled out the first section of a five-part economic plan (titled "Future Works America") before reporters this morning. "Mark Kirk and the failed politics of the past got us into this economic mess," he said. "I have a plan to lead us to a more promising future."

Standing beside a new homeowner in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, Giannoulias called for a one-year extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit (which was included in the stimulus bill Kirk voted against) and a one-year payroll tax holiday on the first $20,000 of income for individuals making less than $75,000. (Th eSenate is expected to pass the homebuyers credit this week, although the extension would only last eight months.) He also wants to create a tax credit for small businesses with less than 50 employees, available for one year to companies that add workers to their payroll. To pay for the mini-recovery package, the treasurer would work to close corporate loopholes that benefit companies who ship jobs overseas. Watch him layout the expected benefits of the plan:

Giannoulias was not very specific about which reforms to the tax code he would target, something the White House is already looking into, but he emphasized that his total package would be short-term and deficit neutral.

As longtime readers might remember, Kirk has repeatedly voted against the first-time tax credit despite the fact that he benefits handsomely from a homeowners property tax credit here in Illinois. Indeed, in 2007, Kirk paid only $785 in property taxes on his Highland Park home. Without the credit, he would have paid $8,385.

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

2010 Grab Bag: Quinn Officially Announces, Giannoulias Gets More Labor Backing

Josh Kalven — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:33:05 -0700

The latest from the 2010 electoral landscape in Illinois ...

IL GOVERNOR

As we watched him roll out campaign ads and accept high-profile endorsements in recent months, we forgot that Gov. Pat Quinn never actually held an official launch for his 2010 campaign. Today, he's doing just that with a kick-off event in Chicago, followed by announcement stops in eight other Illinois cities: Springfield, Cahokia, Herrin, West Frankfort, Mt. Vernon, Salem, Mattoon, and Tuscola. We'll have some photos from the Chicago event later today.

Quinn's launch coincides with his release of his economic plan, titled "Jobs and Growth for Illinois." Here are the five priorities laid out under this plan:

1) Rebuilding the state’s foundations by investing in public works and 21st-century communications systems.

2) Investing in clean energy to create jobs today and sustainable energy resources for our future.

3) Protecting and increasing the state’s investment in our human capital through education.

4) Encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation through strategic use of state investment to provide start-up capital.

5) Expanding the state economy by bringing Illinois to the world.

You can find more detail on each priority here.

Meanwhile, if you haven't seen challenger Dan Hynes' latest ad -- this one 100 percent positive -- you can view it below:

U.S. SENATE

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias announced more labor support this morning. From a press release:

Alexi Giannoulias' campaign for U.S. Senate received a significant boost from organized labor today as four influential unions endorsed his candidacy, the latest in series of high-profile endorsements.

The Teamsters Joint Council 25, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and the International Union of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers each pledged their support to assist the Giannoulias campaign leading up to the Feb. 2 primary election. They have a combined membership of nearly 130,000.

And a Rasmussen poll released on Monday showed Giannoulias tied with GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk in a head-to-head matchup:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Republican hopeful Mark Kirk tied with Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias 41% to 41%. Only four percent (4%) would choose another candidate, while 13% remain undecided.

In mid-August, Kirk held a modest 41% to 38% over Giannoulias

The same poll found that Kirk led Cheryle Jackson by four points (43%-39%) and David Hoffman by ten points (43%-33%).

Speaking of Kirk, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas lays into him in his latest Hill column:

Simmons isn’t the only moderate to cave to his party’s radical right. Rep. Mark Kirk is now facing a competitive primary for Illinois’s Senate seat, despite having the full backing of the Illinois and national GOP establishment. His sin? He voted for cap-and-trade.

But Kirk is contrite! “Briefly, about cap-and-trade, I voted for it because it was in the narrow interests of my congressional district,” squirmed Kirk at a recent rally. Met with boos, he quickly backtracked, “But as your representative, representing the entire state of Illinois, I would vote no on that bill coming up.”

Kirk’s Chicagoland district voted for Obama by a 61-38 margin. The entire state of Illinois voted for Obama 62-37 — meaning Kirk’s district was slightly more conservative than his entire state. So if Kirk were truly evolving his stance to better reflect the state, he’d be moving left. But of course, Kirk isn’t interested in better representing Illinois. He’s interested in saving his ass in a scary primary. And it’s working — his flip-flop earned cheers as he surrendered his “moderate” label.

Yowch.

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