Biden To Give Alexi A Boost

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 14, 2010 6:00PM

As GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk takes his turn in the hot seat, the Democratic nominee, state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, is trying to drum up some good press. Perhaps the biggest piece of news is, as Lynn Sweet reports, Vice President Joe Biden will appear at a June 21 fundraiser scheduled for Alexi. Biden will already be in town to support congressional nominee Dan Seals but it's a big show of support from the White House for a candidate who's had his own set of troubles since garnering the party's nomination in early February. Other Obama administration officials will be showing support for Alexi in the next few weeks, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Obama campaign head David Plouffe.

Giannoulias also made weekend headlines for signing an executive order which extends benefits given to married employees of the state treasurer's office to employees in same-sex domestic partnerships which, according to WBEZ, means "a gay or lesbian employee of the treasurer's office could get unpaid time off to care for a sick partner or for the birth or adoption of a child." Giannoulias claimed the move was not a political move for the upcoming election but rather one of "fairness."