UPDATE: The folks at Hotline’s “House Race Rankings” have moved the 6th District race down two notches, from 18th “hottest” in the nation to 20th.

Duckworth’s decision to turn down several debates in key towns indicates she’s not as politically polished as Roskam.

Melissa Bean’s race was also downgraded ever so slightly, from 27th to 28th.

Bean nabbed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement, a rarity for any Democrat not named Zell Miller or Ben Nelson.

And the governor’s race was also moved down one notch, to 14th.

Does Blagojevich ever get good press? On paper, this race shouldn’t be as competitive as it currently appears.

———————————————————————————————————

· The State Journal-Register has allowed comments on its articles for several weeks. I’ve noticed that the comments on the site are a lot more outrageous than the ones here, even though the paper claims to screen all comments before posting them. A story yesterday about a dog owner shooting a gun devolved into “debate” over the Middle East crisis and then the SJ-R allowed this comment to go through:

Have them put up a yelloe flag & we will get to them…Do you want an Air Force jet(ours) or a F-16 piloted by a Jew?

And then this:

$5,000 per capita each year….for what? For F-16’s..109 artillary units D9 Cats…..We keep Israel alive…don’t bite the hand that feeds you. I have seen the lite and have contacted my Senators & Congressman( a Lebanese) so I & my pals will watch every dime that goes to Israel. Call it what you want…Don’t fight on my dime & expect me to clean up your mess too! Israel is no friend of mine!

And some state agencies block my site? Explain that one, please. [Hat tip: DW]

· Krol looks at the 10th.

If there’s a sleeper race in the suburbs this fall, it’s the 10th Congressional District contest pitting well-respected three-term Republican Mark Kirk against impressive Democratic newcomer Dan Seals.

The district, which includes eastern Lake and northwest Cook counties, is just starting to register on the national political radar screen, with the D.C. pundits moving it up a notch closer to competitive.

That’s partly due to voting history — Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry both carried the district, with Kirk successfully swimming against that top-of-the-ticket tide both times. It’s partly due to dissatisfaction with the Iraq war and military expert Kirk’s out-front support. And it’s partly due to Seals. […]

Ultimately, Seals’ challenge could rise or fall depending on whether the national Democrats, led by Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel, provide some help. But Emanuel probably can’t afford to spend much more in Illinois, given the $4 million-plus he’s already pegged for TV ads in the 6th (Hyde) and 8th (Bean) Districts.

· IRN gets harsh:

Two weeks ago, when Governor Rod Blagojevich gave the city of Marion $1,000,000 extra for ballpark infrastructure work, NewsRadio WJPF asked him where the idea came from.

The Governor told us that he came up with the idea on the spur of the moment, even suggesting that his budget director would be upset when he heard about the decision.

He lied.

The Governor’s Budget Director, John Filan, admits that he and the Governor had already agreed on the amount of extra cash to be handed out and where it would come from. Filan says the two discussed it more than once.

The same can be said for $500,000 Blagojevich doled out earlier this week at the Illinois State Fair.

· Friday beer blogging

· Ron sez: “Nce legs.”