Remarks of Democratic U.S. Senate Nominee Alexi Giannoulias at the City Club of Chicago

Let's, for a moment, remember where we all were ten years ago.

In 2000, America was entering the 21st century with a potent sense of optimism. The economy was thriving. There were 20 million new jobs. The budget was in surplus. There was broad prosperity at home and a fragile, but sustained peace abroad.

I remember the excitement and energy there was on college campuses, in small businesses, and in our communities -- how much hope there was for the future.

Now, that's not to say America at the turn of the last century was perfect, or that our politics always rose to meet our challenges. But it was not too much to hope -- to expect, even -- that America was very much on the right path.

And yet, here we are, barely ten years into the new century, and the American Dream -- that marker of progress for generations -- seems further out of reach than ever before. For the first time, we wonder with great concern: will our children have a tougher go than we've had? Where did it all go so wrong?

Well, it has a lot to do with the type of leaders we send to Washington.

Ten years later, after we all hoped for a new, prosperous decade, our nation is significantly off course. And a lot of that has to do with the disastrous Bush policies enthusiastically supported by a Washington politician named Mark Kirk.

Unfortunately, he's the poster boy for how Washington works and why Washington is broken. And he's got the record to prove it.

As people get introduced to Congressman Kirk and his policies over the next seven months, they'll find out what he really stands for -- which really is nothing at all.

And he certainly hasn't stood for the people of this great State during this critical time in our nation's history.

Illinois voters will learn that after 6 straight months of job losses, he voted against extending unemployment benefits, saying that unemployment is not, quote "a big issue."

He's repeatedly voted for tax breaks for the richest 1% and for companies that ship American jobs overseas.

He's cheered for every single one of George W. Bush's irresponsible, failed budgets that doubled our national debt. Doubled it -- this during a time of great economic growth.

And despite the carnage we see around us because of those negligent budgets -- record unemployment, and an outrageously shrinking middle class -- he refuses to change his views or admit his failures.

In fact, even during a recession, he voted against one of the biggest middle-class tax cuts in history. Why? Strictly for political purposes. Simply, because it was the Democratic President Barack Obama who supported it.

You don't have to look very far to see why Congressman Kirk has landed on the wrong side of history time and time again. Just look at his campaign war chest. Congressman Kirk has taken over two and a half million dollars from Washington corporate interests, and then voted their way nearly every time.

His campaign finance reports for the last ten years and his voting record will say one of two things to Illinois voters: either Congressman Kirk genuinely believes in the failed Bush economics that reward big business at the expense of the middle class, or, these huge corporate PACs and their federal lobbyists simply bought him off with their campaign checks. Either way, Congressman Kirk has failed the people of Illinois.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the problem.

Professional Washington politicians like Congressman Kirk don't think in terms of what's good for the long-term resilience of our nation; they think in terms of election cycles. They don't worry about your job, or whether your children or grandchildren will be able to find a job. They're simply worried about their own jobs in Congress, and they're willing to do anything or say anything or take any cash from any pocket to keep it.

It's this permanent state of selfishness and self-preservation that leads to bad policy. It's how we got an unnecessary war that exploded our deficit. It's how we got trillion-dollar tax cuts for the rich, and tax loopholes for corporations that outsource jobs. It's how they justify raising their own pay while voting against a higher minimum wage. At the end of the day, it's all a game to them, gambled with our tax dollars, leveraged with our children's future. It's the status quo in Washington -- and it has to end.

Since he became the Republican nominee, Mark Kirk hasn't campaigned or even talked about these issues, and for good reason. His positions and his record are simply indefensible. He hasn't talked much about creating jobs. He hasn't talked about holding Wall Street accountable. He hasn't talked about the horrifying challenges facing middle-class families.

Instead, he has essentially campaigned on one thing and one thing only: Broadway Bank.

Ask Congressman Kirk why he now opposes a cap and trade policy that he himself said he voted for as a matter of "national security," and you know what answer you'll get?

Broadway Bank.

Ask Congressman Kirk why he called our President "this guy" and "a one-termer" behind closed-doors and you know what he'll say?

Broadway Bank.

Ask Congressman Kirk if he will keep his pledge to repeal health insurance reform, to repeal a ban on discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and to repeal lower drug prices for seniors, and you know what he'll say?

Broadway Bank.

Just about every sentence Congressman Kirk utters these days is a "noun," a "verb," and Broadway Bank.

So let's dispose of Congressman Kirk's sideshows and deceptions. Let's talk about the facts.

When I was a vice president and a senior loan officer at my family's bank, it was healthy. It was well-capitalized. It had very few delinquent loans. But because of the unprecedented real estate market collapse, the family business I left years ago, along with hundreds of other community banks, is now in peril. Family businesses and community banks are facing challenges that many have never seen before. In the past year and a half alone, 181 community banks have been closed down; compared to 0 in 2005 and 0 in 2006. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I accept responsibility for the less-than 9% of currently non-performing assets that were booked while I was there.

But, Congressman Kirk's claims beyond that simply aren't true. And he knows it.

He can't attack me on my ideas for how to get us out of the economic mess that he helped create, so he launches misleading, untrue smears. But I won't let Congressman Kirk get away from the issues. I'm not going to let this campaign be overshadowed by his negative attacks and lies. Not when the people of Illinois desperately need solutions. Real families are dealing with real problems. It's time to elevate this debate.

We all know what Mark Kirk has done to Illinois families. Let's talk about what I've done for Illinois families.

For four years, I have been serving the people of Illinois as your State Treasurer. When I was elected: I had three major goals: first, eliminate sweetheart contracts and insider deals and restore the faith of the people in their government; second, protect consumers, especially college students, from the unscrupulous actions of credit card companies and Wall St. banks; and third, protect and create good paying Illinois jobs.

Well, we delivered. Working together, we came through for Illinois.

Together with workers, management and other concerned leaders, we took on Wells Fargo when it was going to pull the plug on Hartmarx. We saved 600 good-paying Illinois jobs. We stood up to Oppenheimer when it mismanaged Bright Start. And at a time when other investments took exorbitant losses together with Attorney General Lisa Madigan, we recovered millions for families. We fought credit card companies, fly-by-night lenders, and others who try to rip off consumers. We traveled the State and held financial literacy seminars to help people get a better grip on their finances. We helped entrepreneurs and small businesses get access to capital. We passed a bill that went further than any other state in the nation, to get credit cards off college campuses. And on my first day in office, I ended "pay to play" in the Treasurer's office by passing the most comprehensive ethics order in the office's history.

And last year, on the day I announced my US Senate campaign, I became the first senate candidate in Illinois history to refuse money from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs. I made that pledge because I believe that Corporations have far too much influence on the policy-making process. Just take a look at Congressman Kirk's donors and his votes, and the connection is clear.

Today, I renew my call for Congressman Kirk to match my standard and reject all corporate cash.

But while I was fighting Wall Street here and fighting to save Illinois jobs, Congressman Kirk was in Washington raking in cash, hand-over-fist, from Wall Street and from insurance and drug companies. While I was fighting for Illinois families here, Congressman Kirk was in Washington supporting every one of the failed economic policies that got us into this mess. He protected the taxpayer funded bonuses of Wall St. CEOs, and he refused to enact serious financial reform in D.C.

That's why he won't talk about policy. That's why he won't talk about the issues. That's why he's obsessed with talking instead about Broadway Bank and sensationalized stories about former clients and campaign contributors.

This isn't a surprise. It's typical Washington politics. It's not leadership. But it's classic Kirk.

Well, it won't fool voters. And it won't win this election.

Now, when I decided to run, I knew it was going to be tough. Examining my record is one thing, but putting your family in the line-of-fire is quite another. But I didn't get into this race because I thought it was going to be easy. I got in it because too many Illinois families have it so hard.

But Mark Kirk just doesn't get it.

We are in the middle of a battle for our nation's identity, for our nation's future. Are we a nation of opportunity for all, or privilege for the few? Do we choose to move forward, towards modern policies that empower and protect our citizens, or do we go back to an era where corporate abuses got a free pass and where the destiny of our society was determined by a bunch of Wall Street executives who cut checks to members of Congress who vote their way?

To win this fight for our nation's identity, we need tough leaders, not more professional politicians. As the old saying goes, "politicians worry about the next election; leaders worry about the next generation."

I am running for the U.S. Senate because I wake up every single morning thinking about and fighting for Illinois' future. And I realize that during this critical time in our nation's history, we need leaders who are willing to fight for causes they believe in, who are willing to make tough decisions, and who are willing to fight every day for families that don't always have a voice.

Now more than ever, the people of Illinois need forward-thinking leaders with the fresh ideas to revamp our economy and reinvigorate our democracy. I want to go to the U.S. Senate to fight for those ideas that will land our government on the right side of history.

I have proposed a comprehensive economic plan that reins in Wall Street excesses and targets tax cuts to the small businesses that are the true engines of economic growth. My plan invests in job training to modernize our workforce. My plan provides tax credits to small businesses to spur job growth, and ensures big business plays by the rules. My plan helps to ensure that the reckless activities on Wall St. don't take place again. And my plan gives tax relief to the middle class, not more tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent.

This goes beyond our economy, however. I believe that our long-term economic stability is tied to the strength of our education system.

That's why we need to fully fund our schools so that every child -- regardless of their race, their family's income, or their place of birth, has access to a quality education. We also need to hire a new army of well-trained teachers, and ensure everyone has access to higher education and advanced job training.

And on energy, I have outlined a plan to wean us from foreign oil and create a new generation of clean-energy jobs that stay right here in America. We also need to guarantee equal rights for all Americans, from pay equality for women, to marriage equality for same-sex couples. We need to seriously address the major global threats of nuclear proliferation and climate change, with a clear-headed resolve that doesn't bend in the political winds. And, as last week's announcement by Justice Stevens reminded us, we need Senators who aren't afraid to say that they will support judicial nominees who will employ a fair, responsible, and pragmatic interpretation of the law.

We need a Senator who doesn't avoid these issues so he can sneak by in an election, we need a Senator who has the courage to tackle them head-on. That's why I'm out there, every day, talking about these very topics with students, small business owners, stay-at-home moms, retirees, and others throughout Illinois. And do you know what I hear? What Illinois families want from their government? They don't want a "bailout." They don't want a "handout." They just want a job and a voice in Washington that speaks for them. They want some sense of security for themselves and their family, to know that their government is hard at work laying the foundation for a better tomorrow.

That's the change our nation needs. That's the type of reform that will chart a new course for our country, that will make our government work just as hard as the people it represents. And that's the change Congressman Kirk can't deliver. The only thing he seems capable of delivering is a consistent opposition to President Obama at every turn, just to be an obstructionist. Is that the type of Senator we want?

Well, that's the choice that Illinois voters face: we can go back to the failed, reckless Bush-Kirk economic policies that have put this country on the precipice of disaster, or we can move this country forward -- forward with fresh leaders who will work with President Obama to give Illinois families a chance at the American dream again.

A fresh start. Principled leadership. And a fighter who doesn't back down.

As I've said before, I'm not running for the U.S. Senate to "be something, I'm running to do something."

That's what Illinois needs. That's what I'll bring to the U.S. Senate.

And that's why we're going to win this race for the people of Illinois in November.

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