Date for Debate!

Tonight Gov. Pat Quinn and Candidate Bruce Rauner debate each other! Some guy named Jak Tichenor is the moderator.

Opening statements by coin toss:

Quinn: Governors in jail! Budget deficit! all bad when he took office. But now -- jobs are up, unemployment is down. Education is good!

Rauner: thank you thank you thank you.  He seems nervous. Machine politicians! Crime! Unemployment! All bad!

Question #1 -- from Amanda Vinicky.  Who on the other side of the political fence do you most admire and think you could work wth?

Rauner -- I like to work with everyone!

Quinn -- I work with everyone! I like everyone!

They are both wearing striped ties -- Quinn has blue and silver, Rauner has blue and red.

Rauner seems befuddled. Is he prepared for this? Preparation for public speaking is key.

Chrysler and Belvedere had 400 jobs when he started. Now they have 4,000! says Gov. Quinn

Illinois has lost over 40,000 manufacturing jobs since Quinn took office. Illinois is hostile to manufacturing firms. Is this true? How do you find out if this is true?

Climate Change -- is it true? Rauner says we need a "broad base of energy." Doesn't say if he believes in climate change. Oh! He likes fracking -- my mom's friend Darsa HATES fracking!

Quinn says we need to take on climate change. We need energy efficiency.

Amanda Vinicky asked if Rauner ever hired someone who was a novice to work for him. He blah blah blahed and didn't answer the question.

Burn! Quinn said Rauner has been involved in 12 bankrupt companies!

Education!!  Rauner says we are 48th in the 50 states for education funding. Mom snorted and said we are 48th for funding care of the disabled, so that figures.

Pension protection clause -- were the Illinois Constitution framers right?  Rauner thinks we should freeze the current pension where they are, then create a new pension plan for people.

Quinn passed a bipartisan pension reform plan.  Quinn says we shouldn't talk about the pension protection clause right now.

$10 per hour minimum wage thing on the ballot. Would this destroy the economy. Quinn favors raising the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage supports social justice.

Rauner says Quinn has NOT raised the minimum wage and Illinois fails on jobs. FAILS!

Rauner keeps talking about "political football." The questioner asked about something in Kansas, but Rauner started talking about something else. Do these guys know how to answer actual questions?

Quinn says Rauner supports unfair taxes. If Rauner gets his way, we'll have to pay taxes on garbage pickup.

Quinn competes for everyone's votes! He wants all the votes!

rauner says Quinn is trying to buy African American votes! Rauner says he and his wife are total supporters of the black community! They care deeply for the African Americans. My mom reminds us he lives in Winnetka, where they didn't used to allow black people after dark.

Quinn says Rauner had 51 executives in his investment from and none of them are African Americans. This came in an question in about worker's comp. Huh? Again, do these guys know how to answer a question?

Waste and fraud in medicaid is out of control, says Rauner. Waste and fraud!

This Amanda Vinicky always looks so cheerful! I like her!

Quinn says he isn't perfect since no human being is. Quinn says he takes responsibility when things goes wrong, but Rauner doesn't.

"What service would you cut, Governor?" Quinn isn't answering. He's just blabbing.

Rauner says he would cut the Dept of Central Management Services, because it has no point.

Quinn passed a budget he didn't like because we need to have a working budget. Then he said more about Rauner's service taxes.  Vinicky says no one can make the numbers in Rauner's budget add up -- would he please make them add up. He is blabbing about growing jobs and how Chicago politicians are running things. He didn't do any adding.

Prisons -- rehabilitate inmates so people don't keep going back to jail. How will they do it? Rauner says blah blah and thinks we should help non-violent offenders. We need to change! But no answers how.  Quinn says prison guards support him. Ha!  Quinn says there are programs to help people get jobs after they get out of jail.

Closing statements --

Quinn -- thank you! The heart of Illinois, the heart of a volunteer, is the heart of America! He wants to invest in all kinds of things.

Rauner -- he loves Illinois passionately. He wants to make Illinois better. Blagojevich and Quinn have ruined Illinois and only Rauner can fix it! Excited to go to work and fix things!

Good night from Peoria!