IL Senate Candidates Make Final Campaign Stops

Whoever wins Tuesday's U.S. Senate race in Illinois will likely get to work right away rather than waiting until President Barack Obama's old senate term ends in January.

Roland Burris currently holds that seat. Burris was appointed to the Senate by former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested, impeached, and then removed from office. A special election coupled with the general election will allow voters to choose a candidate for a six week term before starting a full six year term.

At a campaign stop Monday at Savoy's Willard Airport, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Kirk told a crowd of supporters that change in the U.S. Senate will come sooner in Illinois than in any other state.

"Your vote counts more than the vote of all 49 other states because you send a senator right away to the United States Senate," Kirk said.

Kirk, who has represented Illinois' 10th congressional district since 2001, said he plans to return to Washington to help stop a trillion dollar spending bill and a national sales tax.

Kirk's opponent, Illinois' Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, said there is not a race in the country with a "sharper contrast'' between candidates than him and Kirk. He said Kirk has consistently voted against what he calls Obama's efforts to get the economy back on track. Giannoulias stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport in Springfield earlier in the day to greet supporters. Giannoulias blasted Kirk's record in Congress.

"Now (Kirk) says he's the candidate who spends less, taxes less and borrows less," Giannoulias said. "No one in this race has spent more, borrowed more, taxed more and led less than Congressman Kirk in Washington DC."

Kirk and Giannoulias are in a tight race. Recent polls show the two candidates neck-and-neck, with Kirk having a slight lead. The Green Party's LeAlan Jones and Libertarian Mike Labno are also vying for the U.S. Senate seat.

(Photos by Sean Powers/WILL)