If Pat Quinn campaigned through the primary and general election with the urgency and tenacity he displayed in the gubernatorial campaign’s final weeks, he might have beaten Bill Brady by a wider margin than he did. The Senate campaign, meanwhile, was distilled to one issue: who did voters trust more? Did they trust the congressman who embellished his military record? Or the Golden Boy who oversaw a bank that failed and may have made loans to alleged mobsters? Ultimately, voters chose the former. more ›

Well, that was fun while it lasted. Alexi Giannoulias has confirmed that won't be running for mayor, putting to bed any hopes of having a Man on 5 that comes to work rocking jeans and Blackhawks hats. After one full news cycle's worth of water-testing, Giannoulias is getting out of the pool early, making pickup b-ball games at the East Bank Club less safe for everyone. more ›

Way to stand up to the bully there... Dick. more ›

It may just be us, but it seems as though the Sun-Times is floating trial balloons for prospective challengers to Rahm Emanuel's mayoral campaign. more ›

While folks in Southern Illinois are busy blaming Chicago for Bill Brady's defeat in he race for Governor, ballot experts have narrowed the focus to "ticket splitters," those folks who don't always vote straight party. 2 percent of Illinois voters chose Pat Quinn for Governor and Mark Kirk for Senator on election night. more ›

In a show of collegiality strikingly missing in this election cycle, Senator-elect Mark Kirk and defeated Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias met at the Billy Goat Tavern last night for a beer. “Alexi and I, during this campaign, we discussed having a beer when this is all over,” Kirk told CBS2. “The first round is on me.” more ›

Capitalizing on voter concerns of the economy and the spark provided by the Tea Party movement, the Republican Party staged what Illinois Senator-elect Mark Kirk called "a tsunami in the heartland," taking control of the House of Representatives and gaining enough seats in the Senate to make life miserable for Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democratic majority there. "The American people's voice was heard at the ballot box," said the incoming House Speaker, Ohio's John Boehner. more ›

Well, here we are. The polls have closed and it's all over but the waiting. We've installed a twitter chat widget in the post so you can follow along on the updates throughout the evening. You can also join in on the conversation by using the hashtag #Chilection2K10.

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The polls will close in five hours across Illinois and it's nice to not have to hear or see a campaign commercial. This must be the silence Mom referred to as her time, before we all stirred awake and she herded us along to school. more ›

With days to go before the general election, major television stations are pulling Bill Brady's campaign commercials because he hasn't paid for the airtime. And here we thought the ads last night seemed slightly less offensive because the politicians wised up on negative ads. more ›

This election season has been one of the most expensive in history in Illinois, in nearly every race for office. Last week, Fox News Chicago estimated that candidates in the Chicago area spent at least $61.1 million on television campaign advertisements alone. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform reported that ten legislative races hit $1 million in campaign spending, with more than 60% of funds coming from legislative leaders. Even holding onto a Supreme Court seat shattered spending records. The ICPR reported this week $3.1 million dollars raised in the one-candidate retention contest of Justice Thomas Kilbride. more ›

Thanks to the magic of pop-up ads, Chicagoist discovered Wal-Mart's foray into electoral politics this morning. Walmart Community Votes "is dedicated to providing you with the resources, tools, and information to help you make that decision - in a non-partisan and objective format," by connecting users with information on where and how to vote, as well as links to who the elected officials in a given area are, and who the candidates in a given race are. The site isn't very profound as far as content goes - they've only offered printed responses to a questionnaire sent to the two major-party candidates in Illinois. What's more, it appears that only Mark Kirk filled out the questionnaire. more ›

We’re now heading into the home stretch in election season and both the gubernatorial and senate elections are tight races, according to polls released by the Tribune. Republicans Mark Kirk and Bill Brady both lead their respective races, but by thin margins. Kirk holds a 3 percent lead over Giannoulias (44% to 41%) while Brady has a 4 point lead over Quinn (43% to 39%). more ›

A press release from State Representative John Fritchey yesterday indicates a slight rift between 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack and Fritchey over supporting the state Democratic ticket. more ›

The entire foundation of Brady's campaign is of a man who won't accept "business as usual" in Springfield, not to mention hanging the albatross of a 20-year state budget mess on the neck of a man who's only been governor 18 months and was largely marginalized as lieutenant governor by the Human Pompadour... But how does Brady reconcile his "agent of change" stance while accepting money from two men who were complicit in maintaining the status quo? more ›

Ever since it was revealed that GOP Senate Candidate Mark Kirk planned on deploying "voter integrity" squads to key "vulnerable" (read; minority) precincts across the state, allegations of racism have dogged the move. Kirk's opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, has fired off letters to State's Attorney's across the state urging them to keep an eye on voter intimidation. The Giannoulias campaign has upped the ante further, linking voter suppression expert Hans von Spavkosky to voter suppression efforts in Illinois; von Spavkosky called the allegations "complete bullshit." more ›

Illinois Senate candidates Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias squared off in the second of three scheduled debates last night on ABC7. Much like their "Meet the Press" debate last week, the focus was on personal ethics. Kirk once again answered why he embellished his military record, while Giannoulias reiterated that investigations into his family's Broadway Bank did nothing wrong in making loans to people who were later outed as reputed mobsters. more ›

On the heels of the revelation that Mark Kirk will deploy "voter integrity" squads to majority black voting districts around the state, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias's lawyers have sent letters to state’s attorneys, county clerks and the Illinois attorney general asking that additional resources be set aside to make sure that Kirk's plan doesn't become voter suppression. In a letter sent to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, letter, Michael Dorf of Adduci, Dorf, Lehner, Mitchell and Blankenship, PC, asks that Alvarez "investigate this voter suppression program that Congressman Kirk and the Republican party officials have planned." Dorf also asks that "in areas Congressman Kirk is targeting, your office provide additional legal and law enforcement personnel in order to ensure that every vote is cast and counted legally." more ›

A new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University finds Bill Brady holding a nine-point lead over Governor Pat Quinn as the gubernatorial race heads into its final weeks. Which begs the question: How milquetoast does Pat Quinn have to be to be trailing Brady? more ›

Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk kicked off their debate series on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday. Host David Gregory apparently spent some time boning up on Illinois politics, hammering Congressman "Maybe I misrepresented my military record a little bit" and State Treasurer "I didn't know I was loaning money to mobsters and I'm sorry for losing money on your childrens' Bright Start accounts" on the ethics issues that have dogged the both of them for months. Ethics issues that Sun-Times Washington correspondent Lynn Sweet said in the prelude to the debate gave the impression of Illinois voters having to choose between "a serial embellisher and a mob banker." more ›

President Obama went into Candidate Obama mode last night, stumping and raising money for Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias in his tight race against Mark Kirk. With many polls showing Kirk and Giannoulias in a dead heat, Obama's second fundraising appearance here in as many months for Giannoulias is a clear indicator that his Administration believes the seat, which the GOP wants largely as a symbolic victory, is winnable. Although making this Chicagoist staffer choose between Giannoulias and Kirk is like picking between strychnine and witch hazel. more ›

Another day, another Rahm Emanuel-related news item. While Rahm is widely expected to announce his candidacy this Friday, a group of Chicagoans are asking Rahm not to leave D.C.: immigration reform advocates. Maria Pesqueira, president of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, has asked Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Chicago congressman Luis Gutierrez, both Democrats, to ask Emanuel to stay in Washington until immigration reform has become law. more ›

• The FBI executed search warrants on several homes in Minnesota and Chicago as part of a terrorism investigation of a group of anti-war protesters.
• The investigation continues in Elk Grove Village of an incident believed to be a double murder-suicide.
• Police caught a suspect in the act of raping a woman in her apartment near DePaul University and have charged with with home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual assault.

President Obama and VP Joe Biden have already made the local rounds in support of U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias so the next logical step is a helping hand from the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Lynn Sweet reports that Michelle will be back in town on October 13 to help raise some cash for Alexi as well as Rep. Debbie Halvorson, Rep. Bill Foster and Dan Seals. It'll be the first stop for the First Lady who plans to do her first bit of campaigning since the 2008 election. According to Sweet, Michelle's schedule features "nine events in seven cities in six states," quite the whirlwind trip. more ›

Republican Senate Candidate Mark Kirk is launching a new ad today, targeted at Spanish-speaking voters with roots outside of the United States. The ad, in which Kirk shows off his Spanish-speaking chops, touts the congressman's efforts to bring together families that are split between the U.S. and Mexico. "I coordinated the Project 'Abuelita' that reunited grandparents with their grandchildren in Illinois," Kirk says in the ad. "Working as your Senator, I will help Latino families who want to start their own businesses and combat gangs. These are difficult times. Latino families in Illinois deserve a senator who works for them." Kirk is referring to a program that helped secure tourist visas for Mexican grandparents that have family in Waukegan, which is in Kirk's congressional district. more ›

File this one under: "hot topics that have nothing to do with the U.S. Senate race in Illinois." Yet that didn't keep either Dem candidate Alexi Giannoulias or GOP candidate Mark Kirk from weighing in on the controversy over the proposed community center and mosque blocks from Ground Zero in New York City that would share the same "hallowed ground" as a strip club, an OTB, and a Vitamin Shoppe. According to an Associated Press report, Alexi has come out in support of the mosque: "He says while he sympathizes with those who lost loved ones, Americans must stand up for freedom of religion even when it's difficult." It maintains the same line of support President Obama has expressed for the community center/mosque. more ›

A sparse but enthusiastic crowd gathered in Rogers Park yesterday to mark India's 63rd anniversary of becoming a sovereign nation independent from British rule by throwing her a parade. To be honest, we were hoping for some extravagant Bollywood numbers, but the relatively sedate floats still donned plenty of orange and green to celebrate India's independence from Great Britain. The parade was also a hotspot for politicians (and politician-wannabes), including Alexi Giannoulias, Toni Preckwinkle, and Joel Pollak, who donned both a yarmulke and Kurta pajamas for the occasion. We hope they stayed around after the parade like we did to enjoy a mango lassi and masala dosa. more ›

• DuPage County prosecutors announced today that Jacob Nodarse and Johnny Borizov will not face the death penalty if convicted for the Kramer family triple murder in Darien earlier this year.
• Police continue to investigate a murder-suicide that occurred yesterday evening at a Chicago Ridge mall.
• A federal lawsuit alleges that Hyatt Hotel heir Matthew Pritzker was involved with a hit-and-run accident that injured a bicyclist and that police helped to cover up the accident.

In a press blast earlier this week, which Chicagoist gets but doesn't generally read very closely since they're usually just partisan talking points, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Kirk took a swing at his Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias, attempting to tie loans from his families failed Broadway Bank to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The email, (the substance of which is also on a website paid for by Kirk for Senate) sent by the Illinois Republican Party tried to link Giannoulias to Hussein a la Kevin Bacon, through various degrees of separation via Nadhmi Auchi (and Tony Rezko). more ›

Everything is set for a confusing Senatorial election on November 2. Two years after then-governor Blagojevich eschewed the need for a special election and appointed Roland Burris to the "fuckin' golden" seat, the people of Illinois will finally get a chance to properly select the replacement for Barack Obama. Yesterday U.S. District Judge John Grady ruled that the candidates in the general election for the U.S. Senate seat will also be the candidates for the special election and current Sen. Roland Burris will not be allowed on the ballot for the special election. Whoever wins the special election will serve as Senator until January 3, 2011 when the winner of the general election will be sworn in. Judge Grady said the State Board of Elections must have a winner in the special election certified no later than November 24 though it could be done prior to that date, meaning we'll be bidding Burris adieu by Thanksgiving. more ›