With financials still a mystery, who's winning the Senate money race?

As Illinois candidates try to fill Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat, their race to the upper chamber promises to be one of the most highly funded in the state, and likely the nation.

But as campaign finance dominates the political discussion in Illinois today, you'll notice some big names are missing from the latest chatter.

Candidates for U.S. Senate aren't part of the Illinois campaign reporting system. They file their finance reports with the Federal Election Commission on a separate timetable.

Their year-end reports aren't due until Jan. 31., leaving observers to wonder who's caught up, gained a lead or suffered a blow to their campaign pockets.

By September, the leading candidates in a December poll by the Chicago Tribune and WGN had already raised nearly $3 million, according to federal disclosures. 

Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk had collected nearly three times as much as their closest fund raiser, the largely self-funded attorney Jacob J. Meister, a Democrat.

David Hoffman, now considered the Democratic underdog to front runner Giannoulias, was financially way ahead of Cheryle Jackson, who was second among voters in the Tribune's December poll.

Hoffman raised $888,000 through the end of September, compared with Jackson's $367,000, and his fund-raising lead is likely to have grown with his momentum on television and other media.

Unfortunately for political observers, the Senate candidates are disclosing financial statements on the federal elections calendar, so we won't know exactly where they are with campaign dough until the end of the month, very close to the Feb. 2 primary date.

So as we wait, let's review where the candidates stood with three months to go last year. Figures are rounded:

• Giannoulias: $2.95 million in total receipts, $521,000 in total disbursements and $2.4 million in cash on hand
• Kirk: $2.92 million, $706,000, $2.29 million
• Meister: $1.05 million, $9,860, $1.04 million
• Hoffman: $888,000, $58,000, $837,000
• Patrick Hughes, Republican: $382,000, $42,200, $340,000
• Jackson: $367,000, $49,300, $318,000
• John Arrington, Republican: $16,700, $15,100, $1,540
• Robert Marshall, Democrat: $12,000, $11,000, $1,000
• Kathleen Thomas, Republican: $4,800, $3,530, $1,270
• Don Lowery, Republican: $4,320, $2,240, $2,080
• Andy Martin, Republican, and LeAlan Jones, Green, did not file reports.

For a closer look, check out a spreadsheet I created in Excel and PDF formats. And if you notice anything curious about the figures, e-mail me at adrian@chicagocurrent.com.

Also, share your predictions on where you think the candidates would stand if they filed again today. Submit your rankings in the comments section.