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CHICAGO, Ill. - When Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk addressed a crowd of supporters at the DuPage County GOP rally on Saturday, he spoke for roughly five minutes and didn't mention Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias's name once.

Asked later if the omission was an acknowledgement that attacks on the 34-year-old Illinois Treasurer aren't working in the neck-and-neck race, Kirk said no. He said Giannoulias's employment with his family's failed Broadway Bank, and losses to the state's Bright Start college savings program during his time as treasurer are part of his "short public record."

"But in the end," Kirk added, "I think when the people of Illinois vote in November, they will vote about their pocketbooks."

That is the message Kirk drove home on Saturday despite repeated questions from reporters eager to get Kirk's assessment of a series of polls that show him running even with Giannoulias, and losing on the issue of trust in a new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV survey.

Neither candidate broke 40-percent support in the poll, which was conducted Sept. 24 through Sept. 28 and canvassed 600 likely voters. Thirty-five percent of those polled said Giannoulias was the more trustworthy candidate, compared with 30 percent who picked Kirk.

What's more, 41 percent said it was less likely they'd pick Kirk in the election because of a claim he made on his web site this spring that embellished his record in the military.

Kirk said the outcome of that question didn't bother him because the race was always going to be tough - the second most-repeated answer he offered on Saturday.

Asked why voters should trust him, he answered, "Because I joined the United States military because I believe in this country I would die for. I served in the House of Representatives. We helped save a veterans' hospital, which we inaugurated yesterday."

Pressed later on the issue of trust and credibility, Kirk said, "I think it was always a tough race, but in the end this race - by what voters think - will be less about he and I and our resume, and more about how you will vote in the United States Senate." He pushed that there's a growing group of Illinoisans concerned about the deficit, and that will boost him in the race.

But Giannoulias's "short public record" may be how Kirk must refine his contrast now, rather than his opponent's family ties, given Kirk's own trajectory in the race. The 51-year-old congressman has served five terms in the lower chamber and previously worked for the State Department.

When DuPage County GOP chair Dan Cronin introduced Kirk at the Odeum Expo Center, he advised, "Alexi Giannoulias is a basketball buddy and friend of President Obama's, and that's his resume, period."

Not even two hours prior to those comments, Giannoulias chatted with Education Secretary Arne Duncan on a basketball court in Obama's old neighborhood, Hyde Park, while playing in a charity game of hoops.

Before a quick change into athletic apparel when he arrived about 45 minutes behind schedule due to an accident on a Chicago expressway, Giannoulias agreed to take a few questions. He warned, "I'm like seven hours late, though."

He touted Obama's upcoming visit to the state, as well as first lady Michelle Obama's, but said the Obama factor isn't what's pushing him upward in the race - issues are.

"We're up in the Tribune poll, we're up in the last four or five polls, so we're encouraged, and I think we're ahead because there's a stark choice in this race," he said.

He added, "In a blue state, all we need to make sure is turnout is where we need it to be, and we're going to win this race."

Despite all of the difficulty he's faced in the race, Kirk appeared calm and confident on Saturday and was even excited to talk about the administrative challenge this November's ballot presents, because voters will have to choose how to fill appointed Sen. Roland Burris's seat for the last 60 days of his term, as well as the six-year term that begins in January.