A few updates from the campaign trail ...

This morning, U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias announced the endorsement of Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.  From a press release sent out by the campaign:

“Alexi Giannoulias is a rising star of the Democratic Party and will fight hard for working families and against the special interests in Washington,” Cullerton said. “As Treasurer, he has worked tirelessly on behalf of Illinois residents and to fundamentally change how the Treasurer’s Office operates so it functions more efficiently by cutting waste and getting a better rate of return for the state taxpayers.”

For those interested, the Giannoulias campaign has posted the full video of his Chicago campaign launch last Sunday.

On the other side of the Senate race, tweets published by GOP Rep. Mark Kirk while on active duty with the Naval Reserves have attracted the attention of both CNN and NBC Chicago.  In typical mainstream media fashion, the former failed to note that the issue was first raised by Capitol Fax's Rich Miller. CNN did go on to note, however, that the military seems a bit perplexed by Twitter in the context of Department of Defense guidelines:

In this new medium of 140 characters, these questions are leaving the military scratching their heads. One Defense official who spoke to CNN seemed almost just as confused as to where the lines are drawn. While the source did not think the congressman revealing his location was a huge deal (in this particular case), the official was less sure of the other questions the incident raised. The source told CNN, "Given who the individual is and how people can perceive things, it is interesting. We are aware of it and we are looking into it."

In other news, Giannoulias chief of staff and former state lawmaker Robin Kelly introduced herself as a candidate for treasurer with a post on Prairie State Blue yesterday:

Over the past few years I have travelled this state to meet, listen and learn from the citizens I serve.  The people that I have met and the relationships I have formed are the reason my campaign will be successful.  They represent the kind of grassroots campaign that I am seeking to run.  In the past week alone, hundreds of new supporters have signed up to learn more about this campaign.

Kelly has posted an impressive list of endorsements to her campaign website. In the Democratic primary, she will face businessman Kip Kirkpatrick, who has so far raised $500,000 for his bid (including a $100,000 loan from himself).

Finally, Politico reports that 14th District GOP congressional candidate Ethan Hastert was riding his father's fundraising coattails on a recent trip to D.C.:

Republican Ethan Hastert may be trying to create his own political brand in Illinois as he challenges Democratic Rep. Bill Foster, but he’s already working in his father’s shadow.

Hastert the younger was in Washington earlier this week for the unveiling of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s official portrait in the Capitol, and he spent much of his time hitting the fundraising circuit with his father, according to a copy of the schedule provided to POLITICO.