ANOTHER ILLINOIS DEM GETS SET TO EXPLAIN – AT 8:01 P.M. ET:  There's something about the Democratic Party of Illinois.  It remembers no further back than yesterday afternoon.  And so it keeps nominating the same thrift-shop rejects over and over. 

Oh yes, it did boost the fortunes of one Barack Hussein Obama Jr., but, given his current poll numbers, it looks like Illinois Dems produced another clunker. 

So now a new chapter in the epic history is added:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Chicago's Broadway Bank, which is owned by the family of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, was closed by regulators on Friday.

Broadway Bank had roughly $1.2 billion in assets and $1.1 billion in deposits as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The bank's failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $394.3 million, the FDIC said.

Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat and the Illinois state treasurer, is running for the Senate seat formerly held by President Barack Obama. His Republican opponent, Rep. Mark Kirk, is running as a fiscal conservative, and has made Broadway Bank a campaign issue.

The seat is held by Democrat Roland W. Burris of Chicago, who was appointed in 2009 but has announced he won't seek election to a full six-year term.

Yes, re recall Burris's appointment.  May the best hack win.

In an advertisement, Kirk's campaign noted Giannoulias' attempts to "downplay" Broadway Bank's problems, and cited reports of alleged lending by the bank to "convicted felons."

Well, in some Illinois neighborhoods they think "felon" is like "fellow," so I don't know how much punch that charge has.

Demetris Giannoulias, Alexi's brother and the chief executive of Broadway Bank, wrote a commentary article in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday warning of the bank's possible closure, and arguing that "Wall Street banks got taxpayer money to survive -- all we seek is a chance to pull ourselves up."

The four branches of Broadway Bank will reopen as branches of MB Financial Bank on Saturday, the FDIC said.

And think of  it.  The bank is owned by the family of the state treasurer and Dem candidate for Barack Obama's Senate seat.  Careful handling of money seems to run in the family.  That is a joke.

April 24, 2010