* From the Illinois Republican Party…

The “Chicago Tonight” panel had a good laugh over the weekend. The punchline?

Tammy Duckworth’s legislative accomplishments – or lack thereof.

Watch what happened when WTTW anchor Joel Weisman asked his panel to name a single Duckworth accomplishment from her time in Washington:

JOEL WEISMAN: Do you know of some of her accomplishments?

KATE GROSSMAN: I don’t know – I don’t know off the top of my – I know she’s been involved with veterans’ affairs in multiple ways but I don’t know – I can’t list her accomplishments.

MARY WISNIEWSKI: I think for some Democrats, it might be enough that she’s a Democrat and they can, you know – and you have another Democrat in the Senate and she’ll be junior to one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate and will take directions from him.

With an effectiveness score of zero, Duckworth’s tenure in Washington has literally turned into a joke.

And, as the Chicago Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski explained, Democrats are willing to look past Duckworth’s award-winning ineffectiveness because she would simply “take directions” from Dick Durbin.

* Video…

* Meanwhile…

Tammy Duckworth’s campaign for U.S. Senate is out today with a new ad, entitled “Granite City.” The 30-second spot features laid-off steelworkers discussing the uncertainty they’re facing as a result of unfair trade practices. Granite City is a Metro East community where the local steel mill began laying off more than 2,000 workers two days after Christmas. Duckworth has visited Granite City several times as a candidate for U.S. Senate, most recently this past Saturday. Earlier this year, she sat down with laid off workers and their families at the United Steel Workers union hall. While the initial announcement indicated the layoffs would be temporary, the plant remains shuttered today.

Last week, in a speech to the City Club of Chicago, Duckworth released her new economic plan to support a strong workforce and create new opportunities for Illinois families, with a special focus on strengthening Illinois’ manufacturing sector. You can find her new plan HERE.

“Tammy is running for Senate to help families like her own — families that have been knocked down but haven’t given up. She supports trade policies that put Illinois workers first, not multinational corporations. Republican Mark Kirk, on the other hand, refers to himself as an ‘ardent free trader’ and has routinely supported bad trade deals and policies that put American workers at a disadvantage, like protecting tax breaks companies use when they ship jobs overseas. Illinois deserves a Senator who will fight for their jobs and that’s Tammy Duckworth,” said Duckworth deputy campaign manager Matt McGrath.

“Granite City” has begun running statewide, in rotation with the Duckworth biographical spot, “Adversity.”

* The ad…

* Script…

Justin: You didn’t know when you was gonna get laid off, and then, bam, two days after Christmas.

Duckworth: My dad, he was in his late 50’s. He lost his job because the company he was working for was sold, and no one would hire a 50-something-year-old man.

Anthony: The imports are really bad…China, Korea. It’s junk steel.

Duckworth: Mark Kirk describes himself as an ardent free-trader, and that is a fundamental difference between us. I am a fair-trader.

Anthony: He’s not supposed to work for China, he’s supposed to fight for our jobs.

Duckworth: I’m Tammy Duckworth, and I approved this message.