Republican gubernatorial candidates expressed unanimous support for spending cuts during a debate this morning while trying to distinguish themselves with a spate of ideas on trimming the state budget.
Much of the rhetoric during the event, hosted by the City Club of Chicago, focused on which candidate would be most likely to defeat the Democratic nominee and end a drought of Republican leadership at the state level.
And in some exchanges, the candidates turned on each other.
Officials at the City Club said Andy McKenna, second in recent polls behind former Attorney General Jim Ryan, declined to attend.
Bob Schillerstrom, DuPage County Board chairman, summarized one point upon which every candidate at the forum agreed.
"We do not have a revenue problem in Illinois," Schillerstrom said. "We have a spending problem."
It was from that starting point that the candidates diverged into the paths they would take to cut spending — a difficult task in a state where the deficit has surpassed $13 billion.
Schillerstrom said he would begin with a "zero-based" budget that would eliminate government agencies that have not fulfilled their missions, rather than begin with agencies' spending levels in previous years and adjust upward.
State Sen. Kirk Dillard pointed to Medicaid fraud, estimating that cuts to waste in that program could amount to more than a billion dollars. He also recalled his experience as chief of staff for Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who left the state with a budget surplus after the end of his administration.
The comments about Edgar launched state Sen. Bill Brady into one of several attacks against Dillard during the debate. Brady said Dillard neglected to mention that despite the surplus, Edgar operated on an annual deficit.
Brady proposed eliminating the Illinois estate tax and a tax on gasoline the state imposes in addition to local-government charges.
In perhaps the sharpest attack of the debate, Brady would later question fellow Sen. Kirk Dillard's allegiance to the Republican Party, pointing to Dillard's support for Barack Obama.
Dillard, who says he promoted Obama opponent Alan Keyes during Obama's run for U.S. Senate, later backed Obama in the presidential campaign.
Candidate Adam Andrzejewski, who sold his stake in a family publishing business about three years ago, said his experience in business, and away from Springfield politics, best positions him to represent the Republican Party.
He was immoderate in explaining his platform.
"We need to put government on a diet," Andrzejewski said. "I will do three things as your governor: I will cut spending, cut spending and cut spending."
Ryan, the front runner in the GOP race, said fixing Illinois government would require not only spending cuts, but also plans to fix the state's pension system and stimulate the economy.
"We have to attract business in Illinois," he said, "not scare it away" with taxes and fees.
Ryan proposed a hiring freeze in state government, a moratorium on new programs and a constitutional amendment that would impose spending caps on state agencies. He also said state officials should "at least look at" the possibility of privatizing Illinois tollways.
Such a move would come after Gov. Mitch Daniels, widely praised by the Republican candidates this morning, privatized roads in Indiana to raise funds for his state.
The debate also had moments of levity.
Perhaps the most quotable candidate was Dan Proft, who argued that Springfield politics needs a complete "revolution" — a word used sparingly, if at all, by conservative candidates.
Proft compared recent Illinois races between Democrats and Republicans as contests between "street fighters" and "cake eaters," respectively.
"It hasn't worked out too well for us," Proft said.