Bean ready for debut TV commercial

Far better funded than her congressional challenger, U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean is spending some of that campaign capital on her first television commercial of the election season.

The 30-second spot, called "Courage Counts," somberly focuses on the nation's financial crisis.

"We need leaders who will change the system so a meltdown can't happen again," an unseen announcer says. "In tough times, we turn to the ones who care about our community. This time, courage counts."

The advertisement ends with a photograph of a smiling Bean, a Democrat from Barrington seeking her third term representing Illinois' 8th House District.

"I'm ready to work hard today to get tomorrow right," she says as the piece closes.

The spot - launched Monday on the major Chicago-area broadcast stations, according to a Bean spokesman - makes no mention of her opponent, Republican Steve Greenberg.

The same can't be said for Greenberg's first TV ad, which began airing earlier this month on local cable stations. That piece featured the Long Grove resident and former professional hockey player taking shots at an empty hockey goal while a narrator talked about the economic problems that developed since Bean first was elected in 2004.

Bean's camp is better financially prepared for an expensive TV battle. Her campaign had more than $1.5 million saved as of this summer, according to federal records, while Greenberg's war chest held about $105,000.

New campaign finance reports covering income and spending during the last three months are scheduled to be publicized this week.

Bean spokesman Jonathan Lipman called the incumbent's first TV spot a six-figure ad buy, but declined to talk about specifics.

The 8th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.