* Swing State Project takes a look at 2nd Quarter congressional fundraising and discovers lackluster numbers for Democratic state Sen. Michael Bond. All the figures, of course, are in thousands…

From the narrative…

Overall, I’m struck by the lackluster sums from many highly-touted candidates on both sides of the aisle. For the Dems, Michael Bond (IL-10), Charlie Justice (FL-10), Paula Flowers (TN-03), and Bill Hedrick (CA-44) in particular will need to step up their game.

Bond only had a month or so to raise that money, but he can’t scare anybody else out of the race with those numbers. Compare his totals to Republican Adam Kinzinger for context and it’s even worse. Kinzinger is an amateur, while Bond is a respected go-getter, so expectations were very high. He was probably hurt by Kirk’s indecision on the Senate race (particularly from the hardcore pro-Israel types and the business lobby who are with the incumbent Kirk). Still, those totals simply should’ve been better. That report puts blood in the water.

Bond told me today he hopes to push hard and fast after Kirk finally announces and quickly report new fundraising numbers. That’s an absolute must.

* On a much brighter fundraising note, a top source says Comptroller Dan Hynes will report raising about $900,000 during the first six months of this year and will have around $3.5 million cash on hand. No word yet on Gov. Quinn’s fundraising, but expectations are low, particularly after that flap over his June fundraisers which had to be canceled.

* Republican state treasurer candidate Sen. Dan Rutherford filed his six-month disclosure report with the State Board of Elections this morning. Rutherford raised $267,000 and had a bit over $400,000 cash on hand.

* GOP state Sen. Dan Cronin, a recently all but declared candidate for DuPage County Board Chairman, filed this morning with $150,000 raised in the past six months and $80,000 cash on hand.

* Moving along to other issues, The Hill reported this week that they couldn’t find any GOP Senatorial candidates who would take a position on President Obama’s Supreme Court nomineee…

Republicans running for the Senate next year, including those scrounging for votes to win difficult primaries, aren’t saying how they’d vote on Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Interviews with a dozen Republicans running for Senate seats across the country failed to find one candidate who was willing to offer a clear position, despite the two months of public debate since President Obama picked Sotomayor for the high court.

So, with GOP Congressman Mark Kirk’s Senate campaign kickoff announcement expected this coming Monday, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is trying to make Sotomayor an issue. From a press release…

“I urge all individuals, Democrat and Republican, who have expressed an interest in running for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by President Obama to let Illinois voters know how they would carry out their responsibility on a confirmation vote for Judge Sotomayor.”

* Speaking of Kirk, far right national blogger Michelle Malkin took yet another whack at the Republican this week, and Illinois Review blogger Sam PIerce offered up some tongue in cheek Kirk campaign slogans…

* Mark Kirk Supports Manufacturing… in China and India
* Mark Kirk: Less Liberal
* Mark Kirk: Because Aborted Babies Don’t Vote
* Vote For Mark Kirk: Show Congress Cap and Trade Doesn’t Bother You
* Mark Kirk: A NARAL Republican
* Vote For Mark Kirk, Ignore His Fear of Lisa Madigan
* Vote Kirk: He Is Not Technically a Democrat
* Support Mark Kirk: Follow the McCain Model
* Politics First, Support Mark Kirk
* Conservative, Conshmervative, Vote For Kirk
* Mess With A RINO, Get The Horn
* Donate to Mark Kirk’s Campaign… Before The Cost of Everything Goes Up Thanks to Cap and Trade
* Vote For Kirk: Come On This Is Illinois, What Do You Expect?
* Mark Kirk: At Least He Wasn’t Appointed By Blagojevich

Frankly, “Mess With A RINO, Get The Horn,” is pretty darned good.

* GOP gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard got some good press in the Chicago Tribune today…

A newly proposed law would fire the entire University of Illinois Board of Trustees following an admissions scandal at the state’s most prestigious campus.

State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) proposed the legislation this week, saying the majority of U. of I. trustees failed to protect the university from the nepotism and patronage practices that plague Illinois politics. Eight of the nine current members were either appointed or reappointed by ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But one of his primary opponents, Dan Proft, disagrees…

Now that all of this has come to light, Springfield politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, are attempting to foist responsibility onto admissions officers and university trustees whose only error was to go-along-to-get-along under political pressure from those very same politicians.

* Illinois Review claims that former GOP state Sen. Roger Keats is a possible Cook County Board President candidate.

* Another super-slick Internet campaign ad from Gov. Pat Quinn…

* Heard anything else?