The federal government is putting off releasing a report on the causes of the failure of Broadway Bank until mid-November. Why should you care? Because Broadway Bank is the failed institution run by the family of Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois.

You’ll recall that Giannoulias was a high-ranking employee at his family’s bank. You’ll also recall that Broadway Bank lent money to known mobsters while Giannoulias was an employee. Giannoulias says he didn’t understand the “extent” of the criminal activity but evidently did know that some level of criminal activity was ongoing.

When banks fail, six months typically pass before the FDIC releases a report on the causes of the collapse. Well, six months since the failure of Broadway Bank was today. And yet there’s been no report. Because the federal government has apparently decided to cover for mob banker Giannoulias until after the election.

The release of the report before the election could have been another political headache for Giannoulias in the close contest with Republican Mark Kirk. Giannoulias has been on the defensive over his role in loans Broadway Bank made to convicted felons while he was a senior loan officer, as well as other troubled lending that contributed to the bank’s collapse early this year.

The inspector general of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. typically issues a “material loss” report, which details issues in a bank’s failure, about six months after the institution is taken over by the regulators. Broadway, which the FDIC accused of “unsafe banking practices,” was closed on April 23, at a cost to the FDIC of $394.3 million.

When it issued an interim report in August, the inspector general’s office said the final report would be issued on or before its Nov. 14 due date. On Friday, agency lawyer John Davidovich said the report is not expected within the next two weeks.

This is clearly a political move. The federal government doesn’t want to cost the pro-big government Democrat the election. The failure of Broadway Bank cost taxpayers $400 million, and learning the cause of that failure may lead some voters to decide that mob banker Giannoulias doesn’t belong in the Senate. We can’t have that.