Republican gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard this morning raised doubts over rival Jim Ryan's proposal to privatize Illinois' highways, calling for guarantees that tolls would not "skyrocket" if a private owner took them over.
In a Chicago press conference today, Dillard also attacked Gov. Pat Quinn for allowing an unpublicized early-release program for state prisoners, and he condemned a plan to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the job-starved village of Thomson.
Dillard said privatizing the Illinois tollway, an old proposal rekindled by former Illinois Attorney General Ryan on Monday, should come with limitations to toll hikes, and that revenue from a sale would go toward state infrastructure rather than operating funds. Read more...
Update/Wrap-Up | 10:05 a.m. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes began what was billed as a gubernatorial candidate "forum" this morning, and it was best that organizers used a word other than "debate."
The rivals, fellow Democrats and sitting officials in Springfield's executive branch, offered little clash and often vague descriptions of policy proposals, differing more on their records than on their positions regarding policy issues.
If there was one defining distinction between the candidates, it came on the issue of the state's pension system for government employees. Read more...
