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.