* Over the weekend, two Democratic congresscritters gave strong indications that they’re gearing up to challenge US Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016, which is expected to be a Democratic year. Tribune…

Rep. Tammy Duckworth ended a political guessing game Monday by making it official that she is exploring a challenge to Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016.

Duckworth, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, told the Tribune she is considering a bid against the Highland Park Republican, raising the potential of a high-dollar campaign between two military veterans known for their comebacks.

Kirk recovered from a major stroke in 2012.

Duckworth came back from losing her legs in the Iraq War in 2004 when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Defeated in her first try for Congress in 2006, she captured a House seat in 2012.

* Carol Marin…

Could we talk about their divorce?

That divorce was almost two decades ago.

And this is not an election year. Bill Foster, a 59-year-old Democrat, just won his third term by a wide margin in November.

So why now?

Because Foster has begun weighing a run for U.S. Sen Mark Kirk’s seat in 2016. But even if he doesn’t, his next re-election race is always around the corner.

“Ever since Bill decided to go into politics,” said 63-year-old Ann Foster, “every single campaign season since 2008, there are a number of months when I am plagued by constant phone calls. Sometimes in the middle of the night. Dozens of them.”

Those callers, mostly reporters, ask about her 1996 divorce filing in which she requested he move out of the marital residence because “the Defendant has pushed, shoved, and caused physical abuse and emotional harm of the Plaintiff, thereby putting her in fear for not only herself but also for the parties (sic) minor children.’

Ann Foster’s signature is at the bottom.

That document, every election season, has been fodder for opposition blogs and anonymous robo calls asking voters if they knew Bill Foster was a “wife-abuser.”

Though Mrs. Foster’s divorce attorney Friday told me he remembers little about the case, he said he always makes sure clients know what they sign.

Mrs. Foster said she did not read it before signing and told the judge the allegation was absolutely not true, that there was never abuse of any kind. The judge apparently agreed because he allowed Bill Foster to remain in the house.

* And then it was Roll Call’s turn…

Rep. Cheri Bustos said she is not closing the door on running for Senate in Illinois in 2016, marking the third House Democrat to express some level of interest in one of the cycle’s top race targets.

“I’m focusing on my district, focusing on what we hope to accomplish in the coming term,” Bustos said in a Tuesday morning interview with CQ Roll Call in her Longworth office. “And like anything in politics, you don’t close the door to anything and you keep an open mind, and I think you’ve got to weigh what’s good for your district, what’s good for your state and what’s good on a personal level. So for right now, what I would tell you is that I guess that’s kind of the long and short of it: I don’t close the door on anything, but I’m squarely focused on the 17th Congressional District of Illinois.” […]

Bustos, who won re-election in her Quad Cities-based district last cycle by a 10-point margin, skirted the issue of whether Duckworth’s decision will impact her own decision on the race.

“Tammy’s my friend,” Bustos said. “She’s a good public servant, she’s in Congress for the right reasons, she wants to help people, she has a passion, especially on veterans issues, and I think she’s done a superb job in that area. And yes we have talked, we talk regularly, and again I think it’s one of those things where in time all of this will shake out, and she’s got a lot to consider as does Bill Foster, I know he’s considering this, and I think time will take care of however this ends up shaking out.”

* The Question: Which of those three would be the strongest candidate against Sen. Kirk, or would you prefer someone else to run? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.