No benefit of doubt for some candidates

Are you not sick of the reputation Illinois has earned? We are a bright state, but we seem to have a disturbing penchant for electing crooks and lowlifes.

Meanwhile, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and current U.S. Senate candidate appears to fall disturbingly close to these categories with his checkered professional past. He helped run his family bank, a now-failed enterprise that approved loan after loan to mobsters and convicts. Included among them was felon and then-political fundraiser Tony Rezko.

Shouldn't we hesitate to elect an individual with these connections? With Giannoulias on the ballot, we must ask ourselves: If we elect this man, would we really be surprised if a typical Chicago political scandal (involving patronage, election fraud, or constitutional overreach) sunk him later on? I'm not sure it would shock anyone. We can no longer afford to give candidates with shady pasts the benefit of the doubt.

Suzanne Filarski

Woodridge