* This one’s gonna stir things up a bit…

While a stroke by no means disqualifies anyone from public office, we cannot tiptoe around the issue of Kirk’s recovery and readiness. His health is a fundamental component of this race — a hotly contested matchup that could return control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats.

We aren’t physicians; Kirk’s doctor attests to his good cognitive health.

But we are voters. And our reluctant judgment is that, due to forces beyond his control, Kirk no longer can perform to the fullest the job of a U.S. senator. We are unable to endorse him for another six-year term.

Whoa.

* More…

We endorse Duckworth with the expectation that she stay focused on cost cutting as the nation navigates a debt crisis that much of official Washington recklessly ignores. We endorse her with the expectation she will challenge her party’s leaders. We endorse her with the realization that Illinois already has one fierce Democratic loyalist in the Senate, Dick Durbin. If she’s elected, it will be Duckworth’s job to also represent the many Republican and independent Illinoisans who won’t have voted for her but who deserve a voice.

*** UPDATE ***  From Kirk’s campaign manager Kevin Artl…

A low-blow and cheap shot by the Chicago Tribune that is not based on fact or reality. The indisputable truth is that while Cong. Duckworth has been rated as one of the least effective members of Congress, Senator Mark Kirk has been one of the most successful. Kirk created bi-partisan support to keep the Export-Import Bank open, saving over 40,000 Illinois jobs, he secured millions in funding for law enforcement to crack down on gang violence and he is viewed as a national leader when he bucked his own party and said he could not support Donald Trump. Illinois families want results–not rhetoric–and that’s what Sen. Kirk delivers.

Maybe if Kirk had talked about Speaker Madigan instead of foreign policy at the editorial board debate he would’ve been endorsed. (No snark.)

* Related…

* Mitt Romney headlining fundraiser for Sen. Mark Kirk in Chicago

* Letterman coming to town for Duckworth fundraiser