Giannoulias campaign releases ad about failed bank

Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias released his first TV ad of the general election campaign Monday as he tried to contain the political fallout from the collapse of his family's bank in his bid for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

In the 60-second spot, Giannoulias talks directly to voters about the bank where he was a loan officer before being elected in 2006.

"I was very proud to be a part of it, and when I left, over four years ago, it was in good shape. But no one could have foreseen these problems," Giannoulias says as the ad flashes a headline highlighting the nation's economic troubles.

A preview of the ad, complete with poignant music and pictures of the bank and Giannoulias' late father, was provided to The Associated Press by the campaign. The commercial will run in markets statewide, the campaign said.

Regulators shut down Broadway Bank on Friday after giving Giannoulias' family about 90 days to raise $85 million. After the takeover, most of the bank's deposits were transferred to MB Financial. The bank, heavy into real estate loans, lost $75 million last year.

Giannoulias has been dogged by questions about the bank, including revelations that it loaned $20 million to two convicted felons.

He has blamed the bank's problems on a bad economy and not bad management by his family.

"Family businesses are dealing with challenges they never would have foreseen. We've seen family businesses go under on every block, on every corner," he says in the ad.

While the bank failure was not a surprise, it is a giant hurdle Giannoulias will have to try to overcome so Democrats can avoid losing another high-profile Senate seat after Republican Scott Brown swept away the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat in a special election earlier this year.

In the ad, Giannoulias tries to connect with voters who may be struggling in their own lives.

"People want someone who's going to fight for them, someone who's been through tough times, someone who's seen, looked at those problems in the face and continues to move on and continues to fight and to struggle for people. And that's why I'm running for the U.S. Senate."

Democrats say Giannoulias has time on his side because the November election is still nearly seven months away and he can try to change the focus of the race.

But Kirk has hammered away at Giannoulias over the bank and shows no sign of letting up.

"There are a lot of questions about Broadway Bank and how it got to this point that Alexi will have to answer as his campaign moves forward," Kirk spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski has said.

Kirk, who released his first ad of the general election campaign in March, has strong backing. He outraised Giannoulias by $1 million in the first quarter of the year, collecting $2.2 million compared with $1.2 million for Giannoulias, which was the Democrat's best quarter.

In the ad, Giannoulias doesn't miss the chance to take a swipe at Kirk, a five-term congressman from Chicago's northern suburbs, for the nation's economic troubles.

"Washington politician Mark Kirk doesn't get it," the announcer says.