Live blogging the lt. gov debate

The field of six Republican lieutenant governor candidates braved the snow and all made it to Springfield for a debate Thursday night in Springfield, though it was delayed a bit.

The Republican field includes state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine, Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole, former Madison County Republican Party Chairman Jason Plummer, Springfield attorney Don Tracy, Hamilton pastor Randy A. White Sr. and Orland Park's Dennis Cook, president of the Consolidated District 230 Board of Education.

The candidates are being introduced and spotlighted as they walk to the stage.

Don Tracy (Springfield) is cleary the hometown favorite among those here based on crowd reaction.

Intro remarks:

Randy White:
Experience and electability key.
State and country going down hill.
"One of the very first things I propose to do ... is stand up and call on our legislators to reduce their pay and retirement plan."

Don Tracy:
Oldest of 12 children. "Yes we're Catholic and yes we're pro-life and yes, my mom is a saint."
Business attorney.
"We need mature and experienced leadership."

Jason Plummer:
No secret the state faces challenges.
"We have a lack of policy leadership in Springfield."
"As lt. gov I will take no pay until we get the unemployment rate back into single digits."

Matt Murphy:
People in this election have one primary question they have to answer (regarding lt. gov candidates) would you feel comfortable having that person assume the governorship.

Dennis Cook:
"Either way Illinois is going to win."
touts school board experience, balancing budgets

Brad Cole:
"This is a critical time in Illinois' history."
"The state's budget is out of balance. Our state's good name has been sold to the highest bidder.
We have issues that demand immediate attention."
"This is not the time for on-the-job training. We need a lt. gov with proven executive experinece."

Question: As lt. gov, Pat Quinn attended funerals of Illinois soldiers. Would you do the same?
Plummer: Yes. "I have to give Pat Quinn some credit."
Murphy: Yes.
Cook: Yes. It's an easy answer.
Cole: Yes. I think that was one of the things Mr. Quinn did right.
White: Yes. I know what war is.
Tracy: Of course I would.

What are your key issues and why are you best for the job?
Murphy: Goal is to make life easier for people. "I've never voted for a tax increase."
Cook: Initially ran for the school board because of lack of trust locally. "I ran to change that."
"We need to focus on education. Education and jobs do come together."
Cole: "I'm running because this is an important job." "I'm running because we need balanced representation."
White: Lower dependency on foreign oil. I'm the only candidate sitting up here who's spent time in coal mines. Health care. I know where to cut costs.
Tracy: I think that public service is a very high calling. I'm running to make Illinois more financially responsible, less corrupt.
Plummer: Leadership experience in his career. We simply do not have an environment that is cohesive to employment and business. I'm the only conservative businessman in this race.

Should we abolish the office to save money?
Cook: the position should still be in place. It's how the gov utilizes the position. Give us a purpose. Suggested letting lt. gov go through agency budgets looking for savings.
Cole: The recent example of Mr. Blagojevich ... is the obvious reason there is a lt. gov. I think that if it did not exist you would have seen the AG move up and then you would have had an appointed person fill that spot. The position is there, it needs to be maximized.
White: No. Folks to you understand that for the fillowing ... pick a number ... years, the lt. gov has done nothing. Do you realize the lt. gov (with the programs he oversees) can effect as much as $1 billion with the budget in this state?
Tracy: As a proponent of limited governor I don't see how you can justify it. There could be a better way to have a line of succession. There shouldn't be a party switch. Yes, I think it could be abolished.
Plummer: The office of lt. gov is only as large as the vision of the person in that office. "We need to take that office ... and focus it on issues where the state is struggling." Lt. gov should focus on graft, corruption and monkey business.
Murphy: In the Senate I have proposed combining the treasurer and comptroller offices for the very reason raised here. In the interests of making choices ... I would be open to having this be the last term of lt. gov becuase frankly we're going to have to make some tough calls.

If you disagreed with the governor how would you go about voicing that opposition?
Cole: Need to be loyal to the voters first.
White: If its a disagreement, the biblical way is to take it to the man himself. The only difference is corruptability. As a police chaplin it's my duty to take it to the officials.
Tracy: As part of a good working relationship, anytime you have a problem you go to your partner and talk about it. In the end, if you lose the battle, you've got to decide is this important enough to go over the governor and go to the people. Corruption, immorality -- go the the people. Policy -- tend to honor the governor.
Plummer: "I'm my own man." Said this is why he's not alligned himself with any of the gov candidates.
Murphy: We've seen when it doesn't work. With Blagojevich-Quinn. When there's that rift and no partnership. I respect the 7 people running for gov, obviously I have a preference (has alligned with Andy McKenna). Prefers to have policy difference disputes privately. There's a big difference if its a legal or ethical issue.
Cook: Tough decisions regarding superintendents and their pay.

What would you cut and would you support any tax increases?
White: No tax increases. Off the table. First cuts would be lawmakers pay and benefits. Other cuts: better choices with ag programs.
Tracy: First place to look would be Medicaid spending. A tax increase in a recession would be the worst time. If a tax increase is inevitable, it would only have to be to avoid massive closings ... and involve major spending cuts.
Plummer: First cut would be his own pay to zero. Develop empathy with people. As far as a tax increase goes, we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. We have to have leadership that's made tough decisions. I don't think we're seeing a lot of that in Springfield.
Murphy: We absolutely cannot raise taxes. Said jobs is his top priority and a tax increase is counter to that.
Cook: No to a tax increase. We have spent beyond our means. Said he's worked with spending problems in his role on the school board. Said he'd look to put school funding into the classrooms, not administrator pay.
Cole: This is a GOP primary so no one's going to support tax increases.The fact of the matter is we could cut all discretionary spending and still not fix the deficit. Need to review agencies and consolidate them.
Should we raise taxes: no. But the issue cannot be realistically taken off the table.

Businesses are facing foreclosure because of delayed state payments, what are you going to do in the short term to pay these people?
Tracy: I really don't know. It's been 12 years since we've had a governor who was both competent and honest. Supported borrowing if necessary to bridge the time until there's a Republican govenror to begin cuts.
Plummer: We put bandaids on wounds that need surgery.
Murphy: The first thing we have to do is stop digging the hole. We overpromised people for years. You're going to have to say "no" to people. You stop making promises you can't keep. We didn't get into this mess in one year and we're not going to get out in one year. We can shorten it down. We can whittle this down, but you're not going to do it overnight.
Cook: Recently told that his district is similarly behind on state payments. We've got to make some tough decisions. Cut state employees pay by 10 percent across the board.
Cole: What we have is an issue of mismanagement. We have to realize these are lives we're dealing with. We will have to make cuts. We will have to keep all the issues on the table. Joked (I think) that people with lots of money might want to loan the state rather than campaigns money.
White: Cut legislative salaries, bid the state roadways, mowing contracts, etc. Lots of policies has to be changed.

Pensions: What would you do to control costs?
Plummer: Need to honor existing agreements but create a new pension system for all new employees. Supports 401K systems. The first thing we need to do is create that second tier.
Murphy: We absolutely need to create a second tier for new hires. What I would propose is in addition ... you've got to bring it more in line with what people in the private sector are seeing. Supports requiring a 2/3rds majority for approval of any future pension enhancements.
Cook: We need to go to defined contribution program. We need law enacted to stop our government from borrowing from the pension program. It's crippling local bodies of government.
Cole: We must stop the defined benefit and move to a defined contribution. State keeps lowering qualification and raising benefits.
White: The people we have promised a pension, you're going to get your pension. After that, the only way I believe we can stop the abuse, is to start over. Should start with legislators.
Tracy: We've got to stop the bleeding. Take power away to pass unfunded mandates.

Put-back amendment: ethics, legislative leader term limits, redistricting, etc
Murphy: supports legislative leaders term limits. Too much power in too few hands. Redistricting reform. These types of things will start to win back the faith of the people.
Cook: The map rules need to be changed. Term limits are needed. Said they worked in Ohio.
Cole: I don't believe in statutory term limits, that's what elections are for. Self imposed term limits. We need to have term limits for term limits for those leaders. Regarding the put back amendment -- the larger legislature -- we don't need more lawmakers, we need better lawmakers.
White: This is where the rubber meets the road right here. Term limits don't work because a rep becomes a sen and then goes on to Congress and takes the corruption with them.
Tracy: The movement is great. Likes the minority representation districts. Doesn't like rank-and-file term limits -- empowers lobbyists and staff. Let's shake things up.
Plummer: I'm a strong believer in term limits. Key is transparency. We need to know who's working with who. Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant.

Closing arguments
Plummer: Thanked everyone who set this up and turned out.
"We need to have serious people in Springfield."
"For far too long the office of lt. gov has been underutilized."
Job should focus on three things: creating jobs, cutting government regulation, fighting monkey business.
People in Springfield should be last to get checks and benefits.
Murphy: Times are tough right now. People are scared. They've been burned by one party rule in this state. I stand here as someone who is a proven leader. Someone who has a background and a record on the issues people care about. Called it the greatest chance for Republicans in perhaps a generation.
"I am who I am, I'm a known commodity."
Cook: I'm excited to be a candidate for lt. gov. I'm honored to be up here with these guys. I just believe my record best prepares me for this office. I've had to make tough decisions with your tax dollars. Said the race has become more important to him because his wife is expecting twins. "I don't think it's fair ... that an option might be another state." Said moving to Indiana could be an option.
Cole: The problems before us are obvious. Do we as the fifth largest state continue down the destructive path of one party rule? This is not a time for on the job training. We need a lt gov with proven executive experience. I'm committed to being a working partner with the next Republican governor. this is a critically important position. I am focused on fixing problems.
I bring true and trusted local experience ... to the race.
White: Folks if you wanted me to get up and give you a sermon I can get up and give .... hours. Cited his work in coal mines and oil wells and local budgeting and efforts with soldiers returning. Cited his "south of I-80" residency and that he should be on the ticket for balance.
Tracy: Cited the payment backlog, Quinn's early release program, worries over pensions, "This is no time to experiment with youth and inexperience."