When the former governor is ousted from office after being arrested on federal corruption charges, voters might expect the next election to be all about ethics reform.
When the former governor is ousted from office after being arrested on federal corruption charges, voters might expect the next election to be all about ethics reform. But that’s not the case in Illinois, where a sputtering economy and a whopping budget deficit have managed to overshadow even the Rod Blagojevich scandal. Instead, in the campaigns leading to the Feb. 2 gubernatorial primary elections, candidates mainly have focused on how to create jobs, cut government spending and fix a deficit that could top $11 billion this year. "It’s our greatest crisis facing our state," said Democrat Dan Hynes, the three-term Illinois comptroller who’s challenging Gov. Pat Quinn in the primary. Six Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination and a shot at the job Blagojevich lost last year when lawmakers stripped him of his office after his arrest on charges that included allegedly trying to sell President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. By far the most bitter primary contest for governor has been between Quinn and Hynes, who have aired a barrage of negative television ads and publicly clashed on everything from borrowing to fix the state’s budget problems to the early release of 1,700 inmates. Quinn, the former lieutenant governor, wants to keep the job he inherited from Blagojevich, saying he needs more time to dig the state out of its worst financial crisis in history. But he’s quick to point out he didn’t create the deficit that has been exacerbated by a deep national recession. Hynes says the accidental governor has had his chance to fix the budget problems but failed. Instead, he says, Illinois government is limping along by borrowing money and not paying its bills. While the budget has dominated the campaign, it’s not the only high-profile issue. Hynes and the Republicans alike have piled on Quinn since The Associated Press disclosed the state had secretly released 1,700 inmates early from Illinois prisons to save money. Some of those criminals are back in prison after committing new violent crimes. Quinn, who has made conflicting statements about the program, blamed his corrections chief and halted the program. But he has been unable to stanch the flow of criticism from his opponents. "Gov. Quinn is hiding, and his lack of transparency has put our systems at risk," said Republican Bill Brady, a state senator from Bloomington. All this could all add up to trouble for Quinn on Election Day. But whoever wins the primary won’t be immune from Republicans who lump Quinn and Hynes into the same tax-and-spend mold. The Republicans lining up for a shot at Quinn’s job want to make the election a referendum on eight years of Democratic rule. They say years of government overspending under Blagojevich got the state into its current financial mess and only drastic spending cuts will turn it around. The crowded GOP field includes former attorney general Jim Ryan, who lost to Blagojevich in 2002. Also running are former Illinois Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna, state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale, businessman Adam Andrzejewski and communications consultant Dan Proft. DuPage County Board chairman Bob Schillerstrom dropped out of the race Friday, saying he could not raise enough money, and threw his support behind Ryan. McKenna has dominated the airwaves with ads complaining Springfield is rigged to benefit political insiders, taking on Quinn and targeting other Republicans for being soft on potential tax increases. While Quinn and Hynes see raising the state income tax as the answer to stopping the budget hemorrhaging, the Republicans are fighting to see who can be the toughest on taxes. Quinn is campaigning on a 50 percent income tax rate increase, although he wants to shield poor and working families by increasing the personal exemption. Hynes wants the rich to pay more through a graduated income tax system, but that would require a constitutional amendment. Quinn has said he believes lawmakers will pass a tax increase when they return to work in Springfield after the primary. But all seven Republicans have vowed they would try to repeal any tax increase the Democrat-controlled Legislature might pass before the November election. Many of them, including McKenna, have signed a no-tax pledge, a move that could box them into a corner if they’re elected governor and a tax increase is needed. "I will go to Springfield, I’ll draw a line in the sand: We’re going to cut spending and not raise taxes," McKenna said during a recent debate. What Republicans don’t offer are specifics to balance the budget. They promise to turn back spending to levels from several years, but they don’t detail the impact of the programs and services that would have to be cut. Quinn maintains the state can’t gut human services, education or health care to save money. And he said it’s unrealistic for Republicans to claim they can cut their way out of the budget mess. "I think you gotta tell the truth to the people. That’s what we need in the governor," Quinn has said. Blagojevich hasn’t been completely overlooked in the governor’s race. Quinn brags about efforts to clean up the state’s image, including lawmakers passing Illinois’ first-ever limits on campaign contributions. Republicans contend Democratic efforts don’t go far enough. They want more restrictions, including those recommended by a reform commission that lawmakers didn’t enact. They also talk about expanding the state’s open meetings law, auditing the state’s finances and setting term limits for legislators. "If you want to limit the amount of influence-peddling that goes on in state government, limit the amount of influence that politicians in state government have to peddle," Proft said. But the GOP has had problems of its own that can keep Blagojevich from being the main campaign issue. The last Republican governor, George Ryan, is serving time in federal prison after being convicted of scamming to illegally sell licenses to truck drivers when he was secretary of state. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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