U.S. Senate candidate David Hoffman is stepping up the pressure on Democratic frontrunner Alexi Giannoulias after the news broke earlier this week that federal regulators are cracking down on his family bank.  From a statement released this afternoon:

Once again, Alexi Giannoulias showed his contempt for Illinois voters by leaving many unanswered questions on the table yesterday. We know he has received $8 million dollars in dividends from Broadway Bank since 2005, which represents 16% of the amount the FDIC says is needed to recapitalize the bank. When asked directly by reporters whether he had any intention of putting that money back in the bank in order to help prevent an FDIC bailout, Mr. Giannoulias was silent. He should return the money. It's the right thing to do.

Regarding the "unanswered questions" at yesterday's press conference, Giannoulias had this to say to the AP later on:

In a follow-up interview with The Associated Press, Giannoulias denied he was ducking questions.

He said that because he no longer works for the bank, he doesn't have detailed information about its financial problems and what caused them. He also said he will have no role in family decisions about how to address the bank's problems.

The Broadway Bank issue is starting to attract some national attention as well, with the AP, Politico, and Fox News all writing about it today.

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