Alexi Giannoulias has served as Illinois State Treasurer since 2006. Giannoulias was the Democratic candidate in the 2010 United States Senatorial race, running against Republican candidate Mark Kirk in Illinois.http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/20/alexi-giannoulias-and-mark-kirk-battling-controversies-in-illino/Kirk defeated Giannoulias by only two percentage points.http://www.foxnews.com/interactive/politics/candidate-list/#state=IL

The Illinois Senate seat was previously held by President Barack Obama. http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jul/08/alexi-giannoulias/alexi-giannoulias-says-kirk-mixed-politics-militar/ Giannoulias was publicly endorsed by President Barack Obama. In one campaign ad, Obama told viewers, "Alexi is my friend. I know his character. You can trust him. You can count on him." http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/obama-cuts-ad-for-alexi-gianno.html  To reporters, Obama commented on his personal friend Giannoulias, "I know how much he loves this country.  I know how committed he is to public service for all the right reasons." http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/08/obama-goes-to-bat-for-alexi-giannoulias-his-old-basketball-buddy-in-illinois.html The loss of the election to Mark Kirk resulted in a gain in the number of seats held by Republicans in the Senate.http://www.foxnews.com/interactive/politics/candidate-list/#state=IL

Alexi Giannoulias was born March 16, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois to Greek immigrants Kalavryta and Chania Giannoulias. http://www.greekamerica.org/alexi-giannoulias/ Giannoulias has dual citizenship in both the United States and Greece. http://quincynews.org/blogs/jenkins-royko-grantland/dick-and-lexi-to-do-a-town-hall-meeting-for-veterans.htmlGiannoulias is engaged to Tara Flocco, his girlfriend of several years.http://www.chicagocurrent.com/articles/30857-On-Google-it-s-Alexi-Giannoulias-and-his-girlfriend

Alexi Giannoulias graduated from Boston University in 1998 with a degree in economics. After graduation, Giannoulias played professional basketball in Greece for one year, from 1998-1999. http://elections.chicagotribune.com/candidate/alexi-giannoulias/ Giannoulias received his law degree from Tulane University in 2002. Giannoulias was employed as Vice-President and Senior Loan Officer at Broadway Bank in Chicago, Illinois, from 2002-2006. Giannoulias became the Illinois State Treasurer in 2006.

On November 7, 2006, Giannoulias was elected as Illinois State Treasurer at the age of 30; at the time of his election, he was the youngest person serving as State Treasurer within the United States. http://www.alexiforillinois.com/about-alexi# http://www.treasurer.il.gov/about-us/meet-treasurer-giannoulias.aspxAs State Treasurer for Illinois, Giannoulias raised money by putting the state’s unclaimed property on eBay, and launched The Green Rewards program to encourage Illinoisans to purchase hybrid vehicles. http://www.treasurer.il.gov/about-us/meet-treasurer-giannoulias.aspx http://www.treasurer.il.gov/programs/cash-dash/faqs.aspxhttp://www.polishnews.com/index.php?view=article&catid=81:news-from-chicago-wiadomoci-z-chicago&id=347:treasurer-giannoulias-is-sold-on-ebay-auction&option=com_content&Itemid=198 President Barack Obama has lent his personal support to his Senate campaign, throwing fundraisers in support of Giannoulias. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/07/obama-comes-to-chicago-fo_n_754027.html Giannoulias is endorsed by the Illinois State Council, Service Employees International Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Human Rights Campaign, among various others. http://www.alexiforillinois.com/about-alexi#Endorsements http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/08/alexi_giannoulias_to_get_illin.html

Giannoulias has been questioned by critics for his involvement with his family’s financially troubled Broadway Bank, which was taken over by the federal regulators in April of 2010 when it was unable to acquire $85 million. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-02-28/business/ct-biz-0228-broadway--20100228_1_bank-s-problems-family-owned-bank-capital-raising http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/23/alexi-giannoulias-broadwa_n_549487.html Some critics have questioned the bank’s loans, and Mark Kirk has publicly called Giannoulias a "mob banker." http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2010/10/giannoulias-consistently-vague-about-his-job-at-the-bank.html http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/20/alexi-giannoulias-and-mark-kirk-battling-controversies-in-illino/