The latest from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois ...

Former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman is up on the air with his first television ad. Watch the spot, in which he states, "The bankers, the lobbyists and insiders have owned Washington for too long":

Meanwhile, three of the Senate candidates have responded to President Obama's decision to commit 30,000 more troops to the conflict in Afghanistan.  State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias released a statement strongly supporting the policy, but also emphasized that this "should not be ... and open-ended commitment":

I commend President Obama for taking a long and serious look at all of our options in Afghanistan.  In a perfect world, our troops would be at home with their families for the holidays, and this war would be over. But we are not dealing with a perfect world; we are dealing with perhaps the most complex, dangerous region in the world - a region from which the attacks of September 11th were launched, and where nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of fanatics and terrorists.

I support the President's decision as part of a larger military and political strategy to defeat the Taliban insurgency and permanently expel al Qaeda from Afghanistan. This is not, and should not be, an open-ended commitment. Our military presence in Afghanistan should be aimed at preventing the Taliban from establishing a base from which to destabilize Pakistan, giving the Afghanis an opportunity to develop a government that works, and training and enabling the Afghanis to secure their own borders and to keep al Qaeda and the Taliban out of the region themselves.

A short-term build-up of troops must be met with a redoubling of our non-military efforts. We need reliable partners both in Kabul and in Islamabad to succeed. The Karzai government has to root out corruption and take concrete steps to deliver a better standard of life for Afghanis and ensure the rights of its citizens, especially those of Afghani women and children. Our allies in Pakistan must work with us to defeat extremists on their side of the border, and deny them safe haven in the border areas.

More American troops have lost their lives this year than any to date in this eight-year war. The cost of the war continues to build, in terms of lives lost and funds expended. It is the moral duty of our government to ensure that it demonstrates as much dedication to political solutions as our troops courageously demonstrate to their mission on the battlefield. Ultimately it will be both their valor and our aggressive non-military efforts that will bring them home safe and create a safer world for all.

In his statement, Hoffman said he is "skeptical that adding more troops is the right strategy for our country" and described himself as "concerned about a potentially open-ended mission":   

I, along with millions of Americans, closely watched President Obama's speech tonight in which he announced plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan to secure population centers outside of Kabul, roll back the influence of the Taliban in the countryside, and accelerate the training of Afghan forces.

While I respect the judgment of the Commander-in-Chief and recognize that President Obama did not come to this decision without great deliberation and reflection, I remain skeptical that adding more troops is the right strategy for our country.  My concern is that the mission of securing all of Afghanistan is very broad, expands beyond our core mission of protecting our country from al Qaeda, is likely to be very costly in both lives and dollars, and may very well take a very long time.

Like most Americans, I have an unwavering confidence in our armed forces. The ability of our men and women in uniform is unmatched in history.  But I believe that our mission in Afghanistan must focus more narrowly on the threat to our nation's safety, which comes from terrorist groups like al Qaeda.  We must keep terrorist groups on the run and fight to ensure that we never again see another 9/11.  But al Qaeda is no longer an Afghanistan-centric group.  They are a relatively weakened force located along the Afghan-Pakistani border, and have also spread to other parts of the world including Somalia and Yemen, as the President described.  The mission against al Qaeda must be pursued not just through military means but through effective counterterrorism tools that disrupt terrorist plots, eliminate terrorist networks, and combat violent ideologies.  We should continue our multi-national effort in Afghanistan to train and support a national government -- with great respect for our President -- I am concerned about a potentially open-ended mission that places an overwhelming emphasis on an expensive military effort in Afghanistan that strays from a mission focused on al Qaeda.

And Cheryle Jackson, who has been circulating a "Bring Our Troops Home" petition, remained opposed to the escalation and detailed how the war funding could be used here in America:

I respect and support President Obama but I disagree with the decision to commit more troops and resources to Afghanistan.  It is time to take care of America again and time to bring our troops home. Until we stop spending hundreds of billions on wars, we will not have the focus or money to solve the challenges we face at home. Some Illinois soldiers are facing their third or fourth deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq. I am so grateful and humbled by the heroism of our brave men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much.

The commitment of 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan is estimated to cost more than $30 billion. Illinois taxpayers spent $49 billion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, according to the National Priority Project. That money could provide more than 20 million people with health care, fund five million college scholarships, 760 thousand elementary teachers for a year or a million new public safety officers. The cost in money and lives of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is too great, and I am concerned that our mission in Afghanistan is unsustainable in light of corruption and instability in the Karzai government.

Jackson also discussed Afghanistan during her appearance on ABC 7's Newsviews over the past weekend.  Watch it:

Finally, Jacob Meister is yet to release a statement on Obama's Afghanistan strategy.  You can read his general foreign policy stance here.

UPDATE (12:06 PM): Here is Meister's statement, which we just received:

My support for President Barack Obama, members of our Armed Services and his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan remains steadfast. I echo the President’s call for a time of national unity, as the challenges we face today as a Nation will take our collective will and courage to overcome. We should all commend President Obama for his careful consideration of all the strategies that could be pursued in Afghanistan and for his sober assessment of the conditions in that country and the consequences of letting the Taliban and al-Qaeda continue to operate with impunity in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Waziristan border region.

President Obama has laid out a clear strategy to diminish and destroy al-Qaeda and the elements of the Taliban that seek to threaten Americans and continue their attempts to undermine a fledgling Afghani democracy. He has clearly defined the mission’s objectives, set a timetable for their completion and outlined a responsible exit strategy. I believe, as does the President, that securing Afghanistan and creating the opportunity for the Afghani people to charter their own destiny is critical to America’s national security, the safety of our citizens and creating stability in the region.

In past statements I have emphasized the great need for us to remember the lessons we have learned since the close of the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980’s. It was good to hear the President address those concerns, but as your United States Senator it will be my duty to ensure that we do not repeat our mistakes, that the President stays true to the timeline he has set forth, and that our strategy in Afghanistan recognizes that our military presence alone will not accomplish our objectives. The United States, along with the international community, must provide the funding and other support that emphasizes education and infrastructure to give the people and government of Afghanistan a firm foundation from which to grow. Furthermore, as we help the Afghani people rebuild their country, we must support the evolution of a democratic political system with a framework that is appropriate for the country, and is based on its history and its tribal and ethnic diversity.