Debates and semantics

Posted by Mike Riopell on Wed, 10/17/2012 - 14:12

In the closing weeks of a contentious campaign for Illinois House, state Reps. Sidney Mathias and Carol Sente are trading jabs over debates.

Mathias, a Buffalo Grove Republican, has tried to needle Sente by saying the Vernon Hills Democrat won't debate him.

But Sente says they've had joint appearances at at least seven forums throughout the campaign.

The words "forum" and "debate" are sometimes used interchangeably, so we'll leave it up to you to decide who's right about this one. The debate over debates is a tough one for reporters to moderate.

“It has now been over a month since we issued our debate challenge, yet we still have not been able to get Sente locked down for a single debate let alone the three she promised the voters,” Mathias spokesman Arlen Gould said in a statement.

Sente argues Mathias hasn't been forthcoming about their efforts to schedule a debate.

"It's clear that Mathias and his handlers are more interested in playing games than in having a real debate on the issues local voters are concerned about," Sente said in a statement.

Both candidates are running for the House in the 59th District, which includes parts of Wheeling and Buffalo Grove in the south and runs north through Vernon Hills to Waukegan.

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