Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias is getting reamed for his stewardship of Illinois' 529 college savings program. How much blame does he really shoulder?
The Employ Illinois Business Program, which offers low-interest
loans to both start-up and existing businesses, has been successful by
most accounts. Since it was launched in 1998, the state treasurer's
office reports
(PDF) that $175 million has been deposited, helping jumpstart 200
projects and create 13,000 new jobs in Illinois. Robin Kelly, the
Democratic nominee for State Treasurer, wants to ramp it up.
Her proposal would allow the state to guarantee
10 percent of any loan to small businesses that pledge to create jobs
within one year. That means if the company defaults on a loan, Illinois
would assume some of the debt obligation. By loosening the local credit markets, Kelly says her office can create 1,000 jobs in the first year. Watch her explain the idea at a recent press conference:
Republican nominee Dan Rutherford isn't a fan of this approach. "I'm not looking to expand into brand-new programs," he told the Tribune. "We can't afford them." Like the race for comptroller,
both treasurer candidates are offering divergent visions for how
Illinois can improve its economy. They are contests worth following.
Newpaper editorial boards announced a few more endorsements over the past few of days that are worth noting. The Tribunetossed its weight behind GOP nominee Bill Brady for the office of Illinois governor, citing Jim Edgar's similar resume -- "downstater, largely unknown, not much of a record" -- when he came into office. "Does Brady have what it takes?" they asked. "We don't know, but we think he does." The Belleville-News Democrat in Southwestern Illinois and the Daily Herald also went in for Brady. (The Sun-Times previously choose Gov. Pat Quinn.)
The Tribuneendorsed Democrat Jesse White for his current office of Secretary of State and Republican Dan Rutherford for State Treasurer. Lisa Madigan locked up their support for Attorney General, which included this laudatory excerpt:
Democrat Lisa Madigan has been a tireless advocate for consumers and taxpayers in her eight
years as attorney general. She has worked to get felons out of state
nursing homes and to increase state supervision of sex offenders. She
campaigned to have dangerous drop-side cribs and infant car seats taken
off the market. She has aggressively prosecuted Medicaid fraud,
returning hundreds of millions of dollars to the state. She stood up to
powerful gaming interests who wanted Illinois to allow a casino in Rosemont, which has well-established ties to organized crime. She blocked former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's short-sighted plan to sell the James R. Thompson Center to help balance the state budget. We could go on and on.
For the office of State Comptroller, GOP candidate Judy Baar Topinka picked up endorsements from both the Tribune and the Sun-Times. Meanwhile, Democrat Robin Kelly nabbed the Sun-Times' endorsement for State Treasurer. Kelly's boss, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias, garnered the Sun-Times'endorsement for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.
According to a new survey of likely voters from Public Policy Polling, the Republicans running for Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer have an edge over their Democratic rivals.
The Illinois Education Association (IEA) has endorsed
Democratic nominee Robin Kelly for Illinois Treasurer and Republican nominee Judy Baar
Topinka for Illinois Comptroller, according to a press release. In January, the IEA backed the Democratic Comptroller candidate, State Rep. David Miller (D-Lynwood), in his party's primary race.
The political arm of the Illinois AFL-CIO also endorsed Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate, David Miller for state comptroller, and Robin Kelly for state treasurer.
As a U.S. Senate subcommittee raked Goldman Sachs over the coals at a hearing in D.C. this morning, state treasurer nominee Robin Kelly became the latest Democratic candidate in Illinois to attack her GOP opponent for accepting contributions from the investment banking giant (currently the target of an SEC lawsuit). Kelly pointed out that Republican Dan Rutherford's campaign had taken $75,000 from a managing director in Goldman's Chicago office. From a statement:
“The greedy ways of this elite Wall Street behemoth led to our
financial crisis and double-digit unemployment while executives lined
their pockets with outrageous bonuses, thanks to taxpayer-funded
bailout money,” Kelly said. “I’m calling on my opponent to donate this
dirty money to charity and vow not to accept it in the future.”
In making this a campaign issue, Kelly is following the lead of U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias and 13th Congressional District candidate Scott Harper. Greg Hinz reports that Rutherford won't be returning the money, however.
Newpaper editorial boards announced a 
