Did Illinois US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias lie to voters or to the IRS? Those would seem to be the only two possibilities considering the Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama's old seat took a $2.7 million tax deduction for working hundreds of hours at his family's failed Broadway Bank in 2006. But the candidate has been telling voters he left the bank by late 2005.

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In the high stakes game for his political future, the Democratic candidate for US Senate from Illinois is going all in with his strong ties to President Barack Obama. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has released a new ad in which the president states, "Alexi's my friend. I know his character. You can trust him. You can count on him." But as Mr. Obama's popularity wanes even in his home state, the ad may do more harm than good in Mr. Giannoulias' neck-and-neck race against Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Illinois).

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Meet Mike Niecestro, the self-proclaimed "disgusted Republican" who is planning to enter the race for US Senate in Illinois as an Independent. With the filing deadline to run less than a week away, the conservative Mr. Niecestro says he already has the 25,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot, will spend at least a million of his own dollars on the campaign, has raised an additional $100,000 and has a website to promote his candidacy.

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Mid-term election season is in full swing and there are at least three races that have both strategic and symbolic significance for the Obama administration. A special Congressional election in Hawaii along with Senate races in Delaware and Illinois have the Obama/Biden home team trailing in the polls and at risk of suffering embarrassing defeats.

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Broadway Bank, owned by the family of Illinois Treasurer, Senate Candidate and Barack Obama ally Alexi Giannoulias (D), was shut down by federal regulators on Friday. While Mr. Giannoulias tried to portray his "father's bank" as a victim of a bad economy, his political opponent sees it differently. A spokeswoman for US Representative Mark Kirk (R) said, "While years of risky lending schemes, hot money investments and loans to organized crime led to today's failure, it's a sad day for Broadway Bank employees who may lose their jobs due to Mr. Giannoulias' reckless business practices." (source)

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