If Keyes were the favorite, I'd expect the subject to be off the table or barely mentioned.
But right now Keyes has to get his name out and connected to something that he thinks will syphon voters from Obama. This is the one he chose.
The less he has to show his ignorance about Illinois, the better he can look. His campaign has some huge holes and this is more of an attention-getter and a diversionary tactic.
No disagreement from me with this statement.