* From what I hear, Democratic US Senate candidate David Hoffman is surging in the polls. All those newspaper endorsements are surely contributing to that. And when I say “all,” I do mean “all.” He’s pretty much run the table. Whether it’s enough to win remains the big question, because he doesn’t appear to have closed the gap enough as of yet. We’ll see what the Tribune poll says. His upcoming ad buy won’t be as big as first claimed, so that works against him because the TV market is gonna be really crowded this coming week. Hoffman talked about his momentum, and the Massachusetts Senate race, Thursday night in Evanston. Watch…

* Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady was asked earlier this week about the “dump Mark Kirk movement” in Illinois and the “split” in the GOP over Kirk’s campaign.

“The ’split,’ I don’t really accept the premise,” Brady said. “The ‘dump Kirk’ movement is a fringe movement. There’s not one candidate that’s polled about five percent except Mark Kirk. So, if there’s a split, it’s certainly not strong enough to the people that are going to come out and vote. I mean, Mark Kirk has a substantial lead, and none of these guys have been polling above five percent.” Illinois Review posted the audio on YouTube…

The reaction was not pleasant with the Right, of course, so Chairman Brady has since issued a clarification of sorts…

“My comments were not directed at the Tea Party movement or any other conservative candidates in the U.S. Senate race. They were directed at one particular candidate, not [GOP U.S. Senate candidate]Patrick Hughes.

“I have been a conservative for over 30 years. I am pro=life, for limited government, pro-Second Amendment and have been consistent in my strong support of law enforcement.

“Any statement that I am opposed to conservative principles is completely false.”

* If Bill Brady had any money to spend, this ad might work…

* More videos/audio…

* Gary Skoien Attacks Opponent for Encouraging Behavior Like Gary Skoien

* Adam Kravitz about eVoter on WROK

* Hastert responds to Hultgren ’smears’

* Preckwinkle and O’Brien respond to Brown controversy

* Re-elect Tony Peraica

* Democrats Nervous if Mark Kirk is the Nominee

* “Mark Kirk is in a Preeminent Position”

* IEA: Rep. Miller addresses Responsible Budget rally

* Mayor Daley Calls on State Legislature to Re-enact the 7% Cap

* Join The Fight With Pat Quinn For Illinois

* UIS uses Google Wave for online learning and teaching

* Real birds eye view. Golden Eagle in flight - Animal Camera - BBC