©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Treasurer Candidate Makes Stop in Galesburg |
One of the candidates for a statewide elected office its current holder is giving up has made what he says is his first campaign stop in Galesburg this season.
Republican State Senator Dan Rutherford spoke before the Galesburg Noon Kiwanis Club Tuesday afternoon. Rutherford is running for state Treasurer, against Democrat Robin Kelly, and Green Party candidate Scott Summers in the November election. Current treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is running for U.S. Senate.
The Pontiac resident tells WGIL he definitely wants to see the current state budget debacle be solved, and there might be two ways to do that without making major budget cuts.
"You put Medicaid in a managed care system. That is not years out. That can be effectuated by passing a law and having it effectuated July first," Rutherford said. "The other thing is, you don't do this through one year programs. We didn't get into this hard situation in one year. And then you start looking at areas where there can and should be cuts."
Rutherford wouldn't say what else specifically he'd cut from the budget. "I'll get you the list," Rutherford told reporters. "You go through a million here, a million there. Those become soundbites, and I'm not into playing the game. I'm into fixing the problem. And fixing the problem is a structural reconfiguration of the government of the State of Illinois. If we keep going the way it is, we will not be able to sustain ourselves, even if you raise the income tax by 67%, like the Senate has already passed the bill to do."
Rutherford says he's not generally in favor of tax increases, as are what's being proposed in order to help fix the state budget. But he says he will never sign one of those annual election pledges not to raise taxes, calling it like "selling out."
He says once all other budget cut-related avenues have been explored, he'll consider a tax increase.
(State Sen. Dan Rutherford, a candidate for Illinois Treasurer, spoke before the Galesburg Noon Kiwanis Club Tuesday. WGIL News Story and Photo by Will Stevenson.) |
|
| 04 07 10 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
