Democratic Governor Pat Quinn and Republican Bruce Rauner each reached out to voters to convince them why they're the best person to lead Illinois. The candidates for governor faced off Thursday in Peoria. It's their first televised debate of the race.
The candidates presented contrasting views on the economic climate in Illinois. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn says manufacturing is up since he's been governor and notes auto manufacturing companies including Chrysler and Ford have increased jobs in recent years under his watch. But Republican businessman Bruce Rauner says the state's regulations and taxes are stifling growth. Quinn wants to extend the state's temporary tax increase which is set to expire next January. Rauner, meanwhile, supports an incremental rollback.
Quinn and Rauner each detailed their biggest professional ``regrets'' during their Peoria debate. Quinn says he's ``definitely not perfect,'' and doesn't think any human being is. He says he regrets not cutting lawmakers pay -and his own - to spur an overhaul of the state's underfunded pension systems sooner.
Rauner says not every company his private equity firm has created or acquired has been successful. He also noted he's ``rarely'' seen business executives engage in unethical behavior. He says he's tried to take action to quickly correct that.
The hour long debate was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Illinois Public Broadcasting.
