* As you know by now, Congresscritter Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been undermining fellow Democrat Debbie Halvorson’s congressional campaign by linking her to Tony Rezko on the Peotone Airport deal…

Jackson said on WLS-890 AM’s “Don Wade and Roma” morning show that two years ago Rezko pitched him a plan to compose a new airport board of appointed, instead of elected, officials. Jackson said he said no to the plan, but that a similar proposal later found its way into Halvorson’s bill.

The proposal was seen as a boon to Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), to whom Rezko was a close adviser.

Asked whether he knew if Rezko met with Halvorson, Jackson said: “I don’t have the answer to that. But the way the governor functions, not always does the left hand know completely what the right hand is doing.

* But Larry has been all over this story and believes Jackson has been getting a free pass from the media. The ArchPundit points to a Jackson statement which clearly shows that the Democrat offered Blagojevich and by extension his buddy Rezko four appointments to Jackson’s Abraham Lincoln National Airport board…

“ALNAC has agreed to give the governor four appointments on its nine-member board. That seems fair and equitable.”

* Halvorson is doing herself no favors by not commenting on this story, but she did issue a press release yesterday…

“I am an independent fighter for the people I represent and I won’t let Chicago politicians tell us what to do in the 11th Congressional District.

“I sponsored the Will County Airport Authority bill on behalf of Will County Labor, Business and Government. This bill has bipartisan support from the legislators in Will County because this third airport bill is about local control and not handing over an airport in Will County over to bigwigs from Chicago. Our plan gives one appointment to the Governor, and ALNAC’s plan ultimately gives five.

“This issue is too important for petty politics, and shame on anyone for suggesting ties to convicted felon Rezko–someone whom I have never even met.”

* Meanwhile, the Jim Oberweis image rehabilitation tour continues with an interview at a local T.G.I. Friday’s…

“We’re doing a lot of things,” [Oberweis] said. “We’re trying to make sure we have a softer side.”

Oberweis said he plans to avoid negative campaigning in November’s General Election against Foster, even if he is attacked first.

“I’ve spent the last month or two traveling around the district, asking people how to run a better campaign,” he said. “A lot of people’s suggestions are that it be a positive campaign and I’ve heard that message.”

Oberweis said the Republican primary and campaigning against Foster in the special election was too negative.

In hindsight, Oberweis said, he wouldn’t have gone negative, and plans to stick to issues the rest of this year.

Those issues include a halt to government spending more than it can afford, securing the country’s borders, and decreasing America’s dependence on foreign oil.

* Congresscritter Mark Kirk’s campaign has released a poll that shows him with a huge lead over his Democratic rival Dan Seals. Up front warning, however, there are just 300 respondents in this poll, so its accuracy is in question. The pollster is solid, though. The margin of error is +/- 5.6%. You can download the executive summary by clicking here. Excerpts…

With approximately five months until the November elections, Congressman Mark Kirk maintains a commanding lead over Dan Seals in the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. Kirk leads Seals 53% to 32%, a 21-point lead in the head-to-head. With this lead, Kirk has surpassed the benchmark 50% on the ballot that a strong incumbent should reach.

Kirk’s lead was 50-29 in March. 15 percent are now undecided, compared to 22 percent in March. The memo points out that the DCCC has spent a bunch of money so far to little avail.

* More…

Mark Kirk maintains a very strong favorable rating of 67% favorable to 16% unfavorable. Again, a strong incumbent should have a avorable rating over 50%. Mark Kirk well exceeds this benchmark, as more than two-thirds of the voters have a favorable opinion of him. Conversely, Dan Seals maintains a lower favorable rating of 39% and a 16% unfavorable rating. Seals’ name identification rating is especially low considering he has been campaigning ever since his first loss to Mark Kirk in 2006. Seals is in danger of becoming the re-run losing candidate.

* This is perhaps the most important result…

Independents and ticket-splitters who vote the person, not the party, are deciding the race. Again, how would Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee affect Congressman Mark Kirk? In a district that is 33% Republican and 35% Democrat, the answer to this question will be decided by “independents” and “ticket-splitters”.

Currently, these likely Obama voters are breaking for Kirk by a 2-1 margin and have a significantly high favorable opinion of Mark Kirk. [emphasis added]