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Giannoulias Says He'll Accept Donations From Some Lobbyists
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias says he's swearing off campaign contributions from lobbyists, but not all lobbyists.

Giannoulias, the state treasurer, promised at the start of his Senate campaign a year ago that he wouldn’t take contributions from corporate lobbyists or political action committees. But that proscription applies only to federal lobbyists and PACs. He has taken money from state-registered lobbyists. He says there’s a difference: Since he's running for a federal office, a state lobbyist can’t try to influence him if he wins.

How much Giannoulias has taken from state lobbyists isn't clear. The campaign of Republican Mark Kirk says it was $87,626. Giannoulias disputes that but his campaign hasn't provided its own number.

Giannoulias says this has been a costly exercise. If he opened his campaign to contributions from corporate lobbyists and political action committees, he would have more money, he says. Giannoulias reported raising about $900,000 in the quarter that ended June 30. That's less than half of the $2.3 million that Kirk brought in. Fund-raising for Giannoulias was hampered in the second quarter by uncertainty surrounding his family's bank, which regulators closed and dissolved at the end of April.

(Illinois Radio Network)
07 21 10 by Newsroom
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