Today marks the end of the third quarter and federal candidates across Illinois are working hard to get some last minute donations.  Meanwhile, here's the latest from the 2010 electoral landscape ...

IL GOVERNOR

Check out Phil Kadner's SouthtownStar column on the Gov. Pat Quinn and the game of "Whac-a-Mole" going on in Illinois politics at the moment:

Around every single opening, there are hundreds of people in Illinois with hammers, waiting to crush the governor's next proposed plan.

We, the people, always tell politicians we want them to cut the budget, slash the waste, get rid of the pork. But when they do start hacking away, we're quick to tell them: "No, not there. Cut somewhere else."

With Quinn, this game has become cruelly laughable because he should've expected a honeymoon period as the replacement for Badgojevich, who replaced the indicted and convicted Gov. George Ryan.

UNITE-HERE Local 1 formally endorsed Quinn this morning.  From a press release:

“Governor Quinn has fought for our members, and not just when it was the easy thing to do,” said Henry Tamarin, President of UNITE HERE Local 1. “Whether it is issues on the job, promoting the tourism industry or on the critical issues facing the state, Governor Quinn has always stood for the hardworking people of Illinois.” 

According to the Tribune, challenger Dan Hynes received endorsements this past weekend from "the Ironworkers Chicago District Council and the Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers Illinois District Council and Local 11."

IL SENATE

Yesterday, Democratic candidate David Hoffman released transparency guidelines that he pledged to adhere to if elected, saying: “There is a crisis of trust in government today and I believe that we have an obligation to be as open and transparent as possible in order to restore that trust."  Here are the components:

- Posting all daily Senate schedules online, including identifying every person and group he meets with;
- Posting the official Senate office budget online, including salaries of all employees and office expenditures;
- Posting all Senate appropriation earmarks online sought by the office, including a full explanation and cost of each project;
- Posting all foreign travel online, including the purpose of the trip, meetings that took place and who was in them and the total cost of the travel;
- Posting all campaign donors who bundle contributions and the amounts they raised online.

Hoffman also received the endorsement of former congressman and judge Abner Mikva this week.  Watch it:

In other news, Alexi Giannoulias put out a statement last Friday on the news regarding Iran's covert nuclear development:

Yesterday we learned that Iran continues to deceive the international community and build its nuclear enrichment and reprocessing capabilities.  Nuclear proliferation and the threat of a nuclear weapon landing in the hands of a terrorist organization pose the most serious security threat facing the international community.  Iran must immediately answer the questions posed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and allow its inspectors full access to the facilities.

I believe that next week's negotiations between Iran, the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, and Germany provide the last opportunity for Iran to regain international trust with concrete and verifiable commitments.  If these negotiations fail, the U.S. should be prepared with a range of severe sanctions to curb Iran's ability and willingness to enrich uranium.  The Senate can start by passing the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act to strengthen the President's ability to impose sanctions on companies providing refined petroleum to Iran or helping Iran expand its own refining capacity.

7th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Rep. Danny Davis has repeatedly declared in recent months that he is running for Cook County board president, yet he continues to leave the backdoor open when it comes to the possiblity of staying put in Congress.  Indeed, as we've previously noted, he has been gathering petitions for both races.  Now check out his comments to Roll Call  (subscription required):

Davis said Monday that he is prepared to file for re-election to his Congressional seat if he decides to drop his bid for Cook County Board president before this fall’s deadline.

“I have enough signatures to turn in for the nominating process for re-election to Congress, should I choose to do so,” Davis said in a phone interview. [...]

Davis has encountered competition in the Cook County Board race. Davis, who served on the board before he came to Congress, is one of several black candidates in the open-seat race for Cook County Board president — a circumstance that could lead to the election of a nonblack candidate next year, much to the dismay of local black community leaders.

 According to a couple of Democratic operatives familiar with the race, Davis thought he could clear the field if he ran, but that hasn’t happened.

While Davis continues to waffle, six potential 7th District successors wait on pins and needles.  It's high time he made a final decision.

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.