Here's another reason Illinois...

...should have elected Alexi Giannoulias (my emphasis):

Senator Kirk Smears "Discredited" Zandi, Despite Touting Him in 2010 Election

In the wake of yesterday's report from Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi, which found that the sweeping spending cuts passed by the House GOP will destroy 700,000 jobs, Republican lawmakers have rushed to dismiss Zandi because of his support for the Recovery Act. This morning, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) jumped on the anti-Zandi bandwagon, saying that he was "discredited" after being the "lead author" of the recovery package, which Kirk called a "complete failure." 

However, Kirk's stated view that Zandi's stimulus position discredits him appears to be a recent development. During his senatorial campaign, Kirk actually touted Zandi's support for maintaining the Bush tax cuts.

Kirk always was -- and probably always will be -- a Republican Party hack.