http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/2439424,CST-NWS-sweet28.articleKirk leads pack in ducking press coverage
June 28, 2010
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist
Last Monday, a group of Chicago reporters chased Illinois GOP Senate nominee Rep. Mark Kirk through a hotel kitchen. They never caught up with him after he left the stage at a public policy Senate forum sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Council. He did not want to stop to take questions because most of them would probably have been about why he embellished his record as a Navy reserve officer.
The first of several stories about Kirk's exaggerations on his military and teaching careers broke May 29; Kirk made a few comments at a Memorial Day parade in Arlington Heights. He met on June 3 with the editorial boards of the Sun-Times and Tribune as his campaign was dealing with its first crisis, and that's been pretty much it. But the issue of Kirk avoiding the press goes deeper than the last few weeks.
Kirk has been ducking routine press coverage since he jumped into the Senate race. He refuses to release, when asked, his government or his political schedules. He also declines to volunteer where he is going to raise campaign cash and who hosts the events.
Kirk has the most stringent and stubborn non-disclosure policy when compared with the three other major Illinois statewide candidates. All can use improvement, especially in revealing in real time campaign fund-raising events. GOP governor nominee state Sen. Bill Brady is the best: He lists many of his fund-raisers on the state GOP website and a spokesman told me, when I brought up the matter, that they are mulling releasing a fuller schedule. During the primary, Alexi Giannoulias' campaign issued a schedule of his public events; in the general election contest, when I ask I often can -- not always -- get notice of what he is doing. Gov. Quinn gives out a bare-bones campaign schedule and nothing on fund-raisers.
--------------------------
Run Mark, run.