Tribune editorial #1:
Illinois voters are blessed with an excellent candidate for state treasurer.
No, not Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat on the ballot. He has some serious issues to explain. They first surfaced March 15 in a Tribune scoop with a striking headline: “Loans to crime figure haunt state treasurer hopeful.”
Six weeks later, Giannoulias has only made matters worse. The more he tries to wriggle out of fully discussing the millions of dollars in loans his family’s Broadway Bank of Chicago gave to a convicted felon, the more questions he raises. Giannoulias, 30, is the senior loan officer and vice president of the bank.
Tribune editorial #2:
Imagine you’re Barack Obama, with enough charisma and political capital to make kings or queens of mere mortal Democratic candidates. Imagine the March 21 Illinois primary is approaching. Whom should you choose to endorse? Who should receive your coveted blessing?
Ah, perhaps your friend Forrest Claypool, who’s running for president of the Cook County Board? You’ve never been cozy with the incumbent, John Stroger. Why, Stroger backed one of your Democratic opponents when you were a little-known legislator running for the U.S. Senate in 2004. You tell people you like Claypool’s reform agenda. Your endorsement might well win the race for Claypool.
Or you could endorse Alexi Giannoulias, a candidate for state treasurer. He was one of your financial backers in 2004.
Sure, it seems odd that you, a U.S. senator, would care more about a state treasurer’s race than about who runs county government in your home county. But your endorsement might well win the race for Giannoulias. […]
Obama is free to endorse anyone he wishes or no one at all. But the Obama seal of approval means something. In this case it means Obama tied his tin can to what has become a very troubled candidacy.
UPDATE: A press release from Sen. Christine Radogno can be found here. (pdf file)