By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
CHICAGO – Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is explaining comments he made during a weekend debate with his Republican opponent on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Giannoulias on Monday said his comments during the debate don't differ from what he's been saying about at least two criminal figures who borrowed money from his family's failed bank.
During the debate Sunday, the Chicago Democrat said the bank knew the men had been in legal trouble but "didn't know the extent of that activity."
He said Monday that in a "perfect world" those weren't the "kind of people that my father wanted to do business with."
He called it a "little offensive" for Republicans to cherry pick a couple of people from the thousands of customers at the bank his late father founded. Broadway Bank failed earlier this year.