U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias has a newTV ad on the air today.  In an attempt to put a positive spin on the Bright Start controversy, the state treasurer notes that Consumer Reports gave the college savings program an "A" grade in March 2009. The commercial describes the Core Bond controversy this way: "When Wall Street made improper investments, he recovered millions for kids to go to college."  Watch it:

As we've written before, the Core Bond debacle appears to be more a story about the Oppenheimer investment managers hiding the degree of leverage they were employing than Giannoulias missing the warning signs. During 2008, college savings plan all across the country posted significant losses thanks to the economic downturn.  What compounded those losses for Bright Start participants with investments in Core Bond was the leverage. 

Fellow Senate candidate David Hoffman is going to try his hardest to make this a big issue in the weeks leading up to the February 2 primary.  From a statement released today in response to the ad:

Illinois State Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, has a long-standing habit of claiming credit for the good things that happen during his tenure, but when it comes to taking responsibility for the mistakes and failures on his watch, he has been skillful at distancing himself.  There is no bigger failure during his time as Treasurer than his mismanagement of Bright Start, the college savings program for families who aspire to send their children to college.  And true to his nature, Mr. Giannoulias accepts no responsibility for his mismanagement and oversight failure of the $150 million that Illinois families lost in the savings fund.

On a related, the Reader's Mick Dumke caught up with Paul Vallas last week following his endorsement of Senate contender David Hoffman.  It's a must-read. And Giannoulias unveiled another ad highlighting the Fallen Hero Scholarship for children of veterans who died in combat. Watch it below:

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