The Campaign and the Candidates; No. 2; Governor's Race

Two days from now, millions of Illinoisans are expected to cast ballots for the candidates of their choice. Join us now as we recall the sounds and voices of the campaign between Governor James Thompson and State Controller Michael but Callis. From public broadcasting at the University of Illinois, WRAL News PRESENTS and Election 78 special. The campaign and the candidates on the road to Springfield. I'm Stu Toft. The rhetoric and rigamarole of the 1978 governor's race is all but over. After more than 12 months of charges and countercharges, dirt and innuendo, it has not been a clean campaign. But people have come to expect that from Illinois politics. For the Republicans, selecting a candidate was an easy process.

They held the governor's mansion. James Thompson, who'd scored the biggest political victory in recent memory with his nearly to trouncing of Michael Howlett and the Daley machine in 1976, had no primary opposition, though he was having problems with the Democratically controlled state legislature. Thompson will stay in close to the promises of candor, honesty and openness. He made in his inaugural address on a frigid January 10th of 1977. In recent years, too many in government have seem interested in power for its sake alone. Too many others have seemed committed to public service as a means to private gain. And too many others have seemed dedicated as much to public relations as to performance. Partisans and ideologues might know that the shortcomings of government at all three levels have had little to do with political party or political philosophy.

Neither party has a monopoly on integrity. No philosophy gives a guarantee of progress. And therein lies the lesson for all of us who hope to restore the public's confidence in politics. For the Democrats, it was another story. Michael Howlett had been decimated by Thompson in 1976. Mayor Richard Daley died December 20th of that year. The Democratic Party was thrown into limbo because of the magnitude of his loss. Howlett was clearly out, but there was no shortage of available contenders. Former Governor Dan Walker, defeated by the Daley machine in the 1976 primary, was talking like he might run. So were Secretary of State Alan Dixon and Comptroller Michael Michaelis. But all were clearly aware of their political careers could suffer serious damage if they ran against Thompson and were trounced. Dixon was the first to back out in September of 1977, announcing

he'd run again for secretary of state. But Dixon denied Democrats were conceding the race to Thompson. A few days later, Walker, citing personal reasons, also announced that he'd not seek to oppose Thompson. That left the field wide open for both Callis the same day Walker announced that he'd not run. September 8th of last year, McCallum said in Springfield that he would be able to beat Thompson. You can be sure that if I made a decision to run that I would. You know, there's no doubt she'd be no doubt in anybody's mind that I would be absolutely positive I could beat him. Not arrogantly positive in the sense that I think that it would be easy. It would not be easy. It would be an enormously difficult task, very, very much uphill, very much the underdog. I mean, here's a half a million dollars already in the political fund. And I just got to pay enough. Hundred fifty thousand dollars of debt from the last campaign. But the played cat and mouse on whether he'd be the man to take on

Thomson while he assessed his prospects. A month later, October 10th of last year, at a campaign stop at the Champagne County Democratic Fish Fry. Begala still had not an ounce, but he was talking issues anyway. I think in either of those races, frankly, one of the issues has got to be the pushing out of the mainstream of decision making of the people of this state or this country. And I think we're really talking about an increasing kind of governmental system, which through special interests is is governing this country in this state. And I think the discussion of the role of special interests and what kind of role they play in both state and national governments and how special interests can control candidates, I think will be a very central kind of theme of the campaign. A few weeks later, but Callis had the results of his survey and made it official. He'd be the candidate, though. Collinsville attorney Decon Williams ran against him in the primary. McCallum's won an easy victory and the opportunity to battle Thompson in November.

And it wasn't long before Michalos began the criticism. It became very clear to me that this was going to be a very unique kind of administration in the sense that it would not be one that would be willing to take on some of the hard issues facing the state of Illinois. And that really what we were seeing unfold and nothing has changed my mind since that time at all. We were seen unfold was a.. An Illinois version of a new kind of politics apparently that had been fashioned in Washington and had been franchised like a McDonald's, a hamburger place, had been franchised and had been moved around the country. And the essence of that franchise, that political franchise, was that there was a basic underlying assumption that today people weren't too concerned and too interested about issues at a meeting with Associated Press broadcasters in Bloomington in early August.

McCallum's continued his criticism of Thompson as being more style than substance, and that no matter what you did or what you said about issues didn't really make very much difference. But in effect, what one needed to do, according to this strategy, is I perceived it. I was to substitute a concern for issues with the concern for style, and that given the complexity of today's world and given the fact that the cynicism of today's population in regard to politics anyhow, that they would be content to view style as a substitute for any kind of real substance, primarily because the attitude was all politicians aren't any good anyhow. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. They all say one thing when they're running, they all do something else when they're when they're elected. So really, what difference does it make? So the bottom line then becomes, is a guy, a nice guy at their second debate in Carbondale in early September. Thompson continued to run on his record, talking about the obligations he feels

the state has to its people. I think that state government has four responsibilities that are more important than all the rest. At least they've been my priorities. They are first, the education of our children. Secondly, the protection of people from crime. Third, permanent jobs for willing workers. And fourth, holding the line on taxes. I found out that the job of governor is a lot tougher than I ever thought it would be. And I've made my share, my share of mistakes. But I've tried to keep my eye on priorities and I think we've done some good things. But Mikayla's faulted Thompson at the Carbondale debate for problems in the state's schools. People are put in the dilemma of reducing the educational quality for their children or taxing themselves even more. Public confidence in our schools continues to fall as we spend more money and have less accountability. We continue to graduate students in record numbers, but do we educate them?

In Illinois, we see no leadership coming from the governor in the field of education, an area that consumes four billion dollars a year of our tax revenues. Social services in Illinois suffer from a lack of direction, a lack of coordination and a lack of purpose. We continue to create age ghettos for thousands of older citizens, while Illinois provides fewer benefits to its senior citizens than any other state in the Midwest. McCallum's was also critical of Thompson for using task forces as a solution to almost every problem facing the state. We can talk about budgets. We can talk about holding the line and indeed we do want to hold the line. And yes, Governor, I do support tax limitations. Contrary to Mr. Thompson, who did the great flip flop of all time, well, he didn't even support his own fellow Republican Don Tartans proposal in the General Assembly to limit taxation fraud at the entire time of the General Assembly, fought it all the way to LA and found that he had no tax relief program, of course.

And then came up with the great idea that he would ask us all if we were for holding down taxes and spending. Well, of course we are. Why didn't he give us something concrete? Because the history of this administration has been to do nothing concrete. It has been to avoid the tough issues. It has been simply to appoint groups, task force, study groups time after time after time without any real resolution. And every single one of the social service areas, we need help. We need to do better. We are not doing the kind of job we're doing. They'll be Khalilzad characterized Illinois as being the worst in a variety of categories. Thompson emphasized the positive. I'm not sure that Mr. McAllister lives in the state of Illinois, and I resent its being called the worst in everything. It clearly is not. When welfare rolls go down because people are getting jobs and because chiefs are being taken off the rolls, it is not the worst state in the nation. When the administration signs to

school aid appropriations in a row which give the highest funding in education in our history, it is not the worst state in the nation. But we can do better incompetency of both students and teachers, something that was ignored by Mr. McAllister when he was the school superintendent. And we slowly come out of the pits that Illinois found itself in in the closing days of the. Administration, where, for example, in the Department of Children and Family Services, not only was the department chaotic, but government wouldn't talk to the private sector, to the Catholic Charities and the Lutheran Charities and the Jewish Charities and vise versa, where virtually every social service Department of government was under lawsuit either by the federal government or by private provider groups because of the arbitrary and inefficient way that government was being run. We've come a long way in two years. We can do better. But I think we have a record in Illinois and social services to be proud of. Next, where the candidates are on the issues. Issues. There are plenty of them.

Here's what McCullough's views is important. I've identified priority areas last January, job creation for the state of Illinois. Of educational funding and the establishment of educational standards. A property tax relief. The elimination of waste in government. And I would add maybe one or two others right now. I think that a growing issue in the state of Illinois is the issue of utility rate regulation and the issue of whether or not really we're talking about another hidden, partly hidden kind of tax that is increasingly affecting people to the point where they can't pay it. And I'm also concerned about the general thrust of government today, which by large, it seems to me, is as a government of what I would call organized advocacy in the sense that special interest groups, because of the money they have, because of the contributions they can give, because of the kind of political organization that some of them can put in the field, that organized groups are increasingly calling the shots

in government today, not only in our state, but across the country. The governor chose to describe the issues question as one of priorities. First, to hold down taxes for as long as I can. Secondly, to keep on balancing the state's budget. Thirdly, to try and overhaul the tax system in Illinois so that we can be sure that is as nearly as man can create it. We have a rational, equitable tax system, including questions like assessment, multiplicity of districts, relationship of taxes. To keep education the number one priority of state government, to try and work on the ever present job of increasing the quality of education. To continue along the path of reorganization. With the July riots, the Pontiac Correctional Center, which left three guards murdered.

Prison overcrowding and related problems were thrust to the forefront at the Carbondale debate. Thompson said he was working to construct two new prisons. He blamed the Walker administration for doing nothing to alleviate the problem. Well, let's put this in perspective. After I was elected governor of the state of Illinois, Governor Walker called me to the mansion one day, even before I was sworn in, and warned me that overcrowded prisons were perhaps one of the gravest problems facing me as a new governor. I appreciated that warning. It was ironic, I think, because under the Walker administration, very little was done to head off a problem that everyone could see coming. If you chart the rise in prison population over the last four or five years, you can see it headedly heading steadily upward as judges sentence more and more offenders to longer periods of time. And yet little was done under the Walker administration to add new bed space to prisons. In fact, prison industry programs were shut down useful outlets for prisoners instead of having them sit in dead cell time

or closed. But by countless faulted Thomson for inaction, saying it took the deaths of the three guards to bring about action. Mr. Thompson's response to the correctional problem was to give some guards a raise, and he only gave them that raise. After the Pontiac prison exploded, he had on his desk a report from April of 1978 saying that talking about the deplorable conditions of prisons in the state, nothing was done. It wasn't put in his budget whatsoever. And at the time when the riot broke out, his response was give them a raise. Finally, all we have to have some lives that are lost apparently gave that order. Sitting at the ballgame someplace. That's how important Mr. Thompson felt. This whole issue was. I think it's also important to keep in mind that there's no overall view at all of any kind of long range planning correction only for the state of Illinois. The Illinois economy has been the subject of controversy as well. But Kelo saying the Thompson administration has done nothing to reverse the economic decline, which Bechamel says has been going on in the state for 20 years.

The economic decline of Illinois transcends political parties. It's been going on for about 20 years. But it is clear that the Thompson administration's typical do nothing posture is not turning this situation around. A leading business newspaper, Crain's Chicago Business, put it this way. And I quote Mr. Thompson Evidence is little anxiety about Illinois's economic erosion. The governor shows little inclination actively to solicit new industry for Illinois, unquote. Thousands of words have been written about the economic decline of Illinois. But all we see from Mr. Thompson are councils and study groups, much sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing. Michaelis made the comments at the mid-September debate in Peoria. Thompson countered by providing instances in which the Illinois economy is moving. Mr. is quoted from the governor's cost control task force about the inefficiency in the waste and the mismanagement of the Bureau of Employment Security, saying it ranged anywhere from 150 million to $300 million in improper payments.

What he did not tell the people of Illinois when he read that quote and what he will see if he goes back and reads it again is that they were describing the Bureau of Employment Security under the Walker administration, not the Thompson administration. And it's in black and white. I suggest you read it again, Mr. Michaelis. The fact is the Illinois economy is moving. Got the fourth highest per person income in the nation. We're number one in exports. Both factory goods and farm goods were number one in the value of farm lands, and it keeps rising. No one in the manufacturer of farm machinery, no one in fabricated metals. No one in chemicals. And lots more at Peoria. The men also talked about the state's transportation system and whether the gasoline tax should be raised. There are three ways to get more money for the state's road program. Increased bonding authority, more money from the federal government and raising the gas tax. If all else fails, if we exhaust both those sources, we ought to be not afraid to tell the people the truth.

The only third source is the gasoline tax. We have a flat seven and a half cent gas tax in Illinois, which has not changed in a number of years, which does not increase with the price of gasoline. And as the increase in the rate of gasoline consumption goes down, road fund revenues go down. Now, if Mr. McCallum will find a road company which builds roads for nothing. I'll be happy to build and repair all the roads he was. But everybody knows you don't get something for nothing in government. If the people of this state want substantial increases in what is now the nation's number one road program, they're going to have to pay for it. But but Callis argued that Thompson's giant road program was mostly on paper. I think it's important to set out from beginning because we'll hear it, I'm sure, for the whole time. The number one road program in the country. Keep in mind, it's a paper program, only paper. There's a difference between what's proposed and what's actually done. And I say again that the shovels are not turned. And what's proposed doesn't mean that there's a road program going on. And one hundred and fifty million dollars, Mr. Thompson says that would be needed.

Always. Of course, the answer is we have to raise the income tax. Well, of course, we don't have to raise the income tax again. His to his cost control task force said there's five hundred million dollars of waste. And let's start, Governor, with the twenty two million dollars of waste, they said is right now in DLT and they ought to get rid of the 800 patronage jobs that you ought to get rid of. That's what we ought to be starting. The men also focused on the Regional Transportation Authority of northeastern Illinois. But countless maintaining the RTA is needed. RTA is a necessary kind of entity for the state of Illinois, something that ought to be supported. There's no doubt that there has been some evidence of lack of sound administration in that in that whole approach, that there has been some evidence of waste. There's not no doubt that the allocation of those resources has not always been fair. As a resident of one of those collar counties, I can I can assure you that certainly we feel that way, although I must say that in the past, in the past few few years anyhow, that seems to have altered at least a little bit. I think we're going to have to look at the whole transportation situation, the state of

Illinois. We can't continue, as I said before, to keep telling people we have money to do these things with the road funds going broke. When the collar counties are being hurt very, very substantially, I think we're going to have to do something which will perhaps increase bonding in that area, although that would be certainly not something that I would have as a top priority. But Callis went on to say that he'd not favor any kind of gas tax increase for the RTA area. He also says he opposes any move to have some of the counties try to withdraw from the RTA, a move he intimated that Thompson favored. I've never suggested that people pull out of the RTA believing the RTA. I believe in a regional transit approached in the northeastern corridor of Illinois. It's funny when we get over to RTA and Mr. MccAlister understands the strong feelings about people in the collar county, all of a sudden he doesn't want any tax increases of the kind that he'd want to build more highways and bridges in Illinois, at least as I heard his suggestion. All of a sudden bonding is not so bad. Now, when just 10 minutes ago, he was talking about a charge card administration, one

that had a transportation program on paper, one that was in the future, one that had to borrow. I guess it depends on how close to home you're coming. The people of Illinois and I will not sit still for any income tax increase, for any sales tax increase, utility tax increase for any kind of tax increase for the RTA. Let them practice the same kind of economies that Mr. Mikayla's wants, the Illinois Department Transportation to practice. Coming up, Thompson and Bush countless discuss utility rates, collective bargaining and news media coverage of their campaigns. With the record cold winters Illinois has faced in 1976 and 77, coupled with increases in costs for virtually all utilities. Both men talked about their positions on utility rate regulation. Here's what McCallum's had to say at the Carbondale debate.

Well, if elected, I would make it a very high priority and I would make it, first of all, a priority by by asking for the resignation of the members right now. The Illinois Congress Commission with the option, obviously, to reappoint those that I believe were consumer directed. I think the key issue is that we don't have any kind of real consumer voice in that area. When rate increases are are given in very short periods of time, year after year after year, when in some cases we have 20 percent, in some cases 40 percent increases, I think something is drastically wrong and we cannot be that protector of monopolies. That isn't the basic function of government. And in my opinion. The governor of the state of Illinois has a very real responsibility to do that. And I think we ought to ask for a moratorium, as a matter of fact, right now in terms of any kind of rate increases for at least a year. But the governor retorted that utility companies, just like everybody else, have to cope with the effects of inflation. While it's popular, I suppose maybe even populistic to campaign against monopolies and to talk about moratoriums on

utility rates. I think Mr. McCallister's said has gone to the question of what the utility people are to do. Faced with the cost of inflating fuel in our economy, faced with the cost of inflating wages and all of the other things that must be built into their fixed profits, yes, they have a monopoly, but their prices are fixed to buy commerce commissions. And I'm afraid it won't do in Illinois just to say I'm going to call for the resignations and slap on a moratorium. That sounds like the governor fixing utility rates. And I don't think that's what governors are supposed to do. Two weeks later in Peoria, at their third debate, the countless was whistling a slightly different tune. There are parts of the state in which utility rates have skyrocketed to really an intolerable kind of degree. In some cases, increases of 70 percent in the hikes and in one year. So I think the key is for a governor to appoint a consumer oriented type of commission, a commission which is going to at least look out much more so than they have for the interests of consumers knowing full well that it's not a blanket kind of case, that we're

going to stop rate increases forever and ever. Of course not. That wouldn't be a responsible thing to do. And I would certainly never advocate anything like that. The key is a matter of degree, a matter of balance, a matter of having some individuals will ask some hard questions about consumer interests. Well, right now, those questions are not being asked. Thompson used the opportunity to take McKellen's to task for his comments at Carbondale. The last debate he wanted all the Commerce Commission commissioners fired and he would decide who to rehire. And he wanted a year's moratorium on utility rates, which I assume has since found out is unconstitutional. As a matter of fact, if you look at the history of utility increases in the Thompson administration, while there have been some, only one significant telephone rate increase was asked for by Illinois, Bell filed and given since I've been governor, they asked for 110 million. They got 8 million. Sounds like a consumer oriented commerce commission to me for electrical rate increases have been filed and given since I've been governor, none of

them in significant size and in only one significant gas case increase since I've been governor. Has a gas company been given anywhere near what they've asked for? As a matter of fact, the State Journal Register said, and I think rightly so. The other week, the present Commerce Commission would find itself more on the consumer side than any in recent history. One issue on which the two men basically agreed is on the need for collective bargaining for teachers. I favor collective bargaining for teachers. I supported and introduced, as a matter of fact, the first bill in the legislature for collective bargaining for teachers when I was in the Office of Education. Collective bargaining is going on and there's no sense hiding our head in the sand and pretending it doesn't. It works for the most part. Obviously, in some cases it breaks down. But we need some kind of framework under which collective bargaining can operate. And I think that has been a major problem in the state of Illinois and that we ought to be doing something about it to get that collective bargaining bill passed. No bill will be a perfect one. Whether it contains the right to strike or not contain the right to strike.

There are going to be strikes. That's been the experience of the country. But to answer your question very directly, yes, I would support the right of teachers to strike. I think it ought to come only though, after a very carefully constructed procedures that would make it very difficult for that to happen and would be a last resort. But I believe they have to have it. Thompson sees it this way, though. No one likes to see teachers out on the picket line. I don't want to see any governmental employees on the picket line, and there have been none during my tenure as governor because we've settled on our labor contracts. Think that they have to, in fairness, retain the ultimate economic weapon. I would note that with increased state aid to education under the Thompson administration for the last two years and I've signed school aid appropriation each year as passed by the General Assembly, there have been fewer and fewer strikes, but I think a collective bargaining law is needed. Glad to see that Mr. McCalla supports one. If he would just talk to his friends in Chicago about picking up some votes in the Senate for one. Maybe we could get one passed.

McKellen says he's been treated fairly and adequately by the state's news media. However, the controller singled out the Chicago Sun-Times for what he called the most biased and prejudiced coverage he's seen. He also voiced some concern over what he called media priorities in coverage. You know, you're always at a disadvantage when you're running against an incumbent of anything, particularly an incumbent governor who can, you know, have sneeze and get good coverage on television. I am disturbed by the continual obsession for the coverage of trivia. I mean, how many times can you cover the dogs, for God's sake? You know, how and how newsworthy is that to cover, you know, the new dog being added and the dog's biting hands and. And you know what? When I stood that day at the at the Capitol out in the back of the Capitol, talking to senior citizens about tax relief and the electronic media deserted me in a second to go see the governor

riding his horse in the rotunda. You begin to wonder, you know, what this whole process is about. Thompson had a response. Dog campaigned with me in 1976 because there was no place to leave him. Basically, my wife worked full time. You don't leave a puppy at home. To gain brains. You don't campaign with me in nineteen seventy eight because I got three of them. It's just too hard to handle. Can't take one without taking. The others are the ones who get jobs. The simple fact of it. If he's so preoccupied with those things, he's not running the kind of campaign I suspect that's going to capture the imagination of people of Illinois. So I I don't know what my style is. It's just me. For good or for ill. I suspect it doesn't have a damn thing to do with what kind of governor I am. Coming up next, perhaps the key issue in the campaign, a ceiling on taxes or a tax cut? Ever since Howard Jarvis mobilized the California electorate and Proposition 13

became a rallying cry nationwide, similar moves have sprung up around the country. Though both Michalos and Thompson agree that Proposition 13 could not work in Illinois, they disagree about what should be done. The governor concocted the so-called Thompson proposition, which will be on the ballot Tuesday after withstanding a court challenge. It provides for a ceiling on taxes. It is one thing to be against excessive spending and excessive taxation. Everybody is. It is quite another thing for a state to adopt as a matter of public policy, statutory and constitutional limitation on spending and a limitation on taxes. I mean, those those, depending upon the contents of the limitation, can be controversial. For example, there was a lot of opposition to the original Tutton Amendment and it was defeated in the state Senate.

One of the reasons it was defeated was because a number of senators, I suspect, were persuaded that the formula that was being used was too rigid and would not allow for the necessary expenditures to sustain continued vitality and growth in areas like mental health and education. But Thompson admitted he had waited perhaps too long to propose it. I came late to the idea of a tax and spending ceiling, and I frankly admitted that I opposed Mr. Tartans original ceiling. Both philosophically and on the specific rather of that, I thought it was too restrictive. I thought it would have, with that limitation built into his formula, gutted education and mental health. No one was supposed to die on the ground. That's that's no, that is not it is not the antithesis of being a fiscal conservative. In my mind, being a fiscal conservative is is a person who makes the state live within its means, goes without tax increases for as long as possible, for as long as responsible government

can be had without a tax increase. But countless cooked up a scheme of his own in time for the fourth and final debate in Chicago in mid-October, which, unlike the other three, had no reporters as panelists. The fourth debate became downright vitriolic, with Thompson portraying himself as responsible and callous as a spendthrift. I believe our people now understand the difference between a governor who can be judged on performance and candidate McKellen's, who has gone desperately around the state, promising everything to everybody without regard to the cost to weary and cynical taxpayers. I believe our people now understand the difference between a governor who has consistently held spending down and candidate Mikayla's, who just a year ago wanted to spend us into bankruptcy or higher taxes. I believe our people now understand the difference between a governor who has been working in Springfield to keep Illinois working personally, helping bring new jobs to Illinois and candidate Callis, who continually demeans

our state and our people by falsely claiming that we are the worst in the nation in this programme, or that claiming that voters this year are both apathetic and cynical. But callous went on. Governor Thompson's been in office for two years, and that's enough time for the voters to decide what kind of a job they think he's been doing. I've been state comptroller and state superintendent of schools, and people can decide what kind of a job I did. But neither of those issues is really what this whole election is about. What it is about is that I hold absolutely opposite views from those of Governor Thompson on some major issues. Frankly, if you agree with Mr. Thompson on those issues, you ought to vote for. If you agree with me, I hope you'll vote for me. The first first area of concern is that of governmental style. The choice is really very clear. If you believe that the governor's office ought to be one of dignity, that we will never get our children to respect public officials until our public officials stop acting like children. Then I'm the candidate for governor.

You should consider. If, however, you accept the assumption that since it doesn't make any difference, really, which politician you choose at any packaged candidate who entertains you will do. Then Mr. Thompson is your man, and you ought to vote for him. But kalus then made his pitch for property tax relief. The first real substantive issue, however, is taxes. Thompson's record is clear. He vetoed a bill the legislature passed to grant limited, limited property tax relief through a system of rebates. He said that he had appoint a commission to study the issue and he wanted the voters to vote on an advisory referendum, purely advisory on whether they wanted taxes to be cut. I'm very clear on this issue. I will cut your property taxes by 20 percent. Over four years, I will impose an immediate limit on state spending and an immediate limit on local spending. Period, end of sentence. If you think the issue deserves more study, vote for Thompson. If you feel taxes should be cut and spending frozen at about the level of inflation.

Vote for me. Thompson responded by calling the bookless plan a two billion dollar fraud. The governor then provided this analysis. The truth is that his tax program could not possibly be financed without a major increase in other taxes or gutting the public school systems of this state. In fact, it would be cheaper and easier to take the Bacall's wrecking ball to the schools and simply knock them down. In short, the truth is that this new tax cut program announced 30 days before an election is a warmed over twice as expensive version of Mr. McCallister's tax rebate program of last summer, which was judged as irresponsible, reprehensible, a fake and a gimmick by the editorial opinion of this state in which I vetoed. Because the people of this state don't want to be charged extra for paying back their own money to themselves in the name of tax reform. But Carlos then lashed back at the Thompson proposition. The eleventh hour when you found yourself against the wall, having no property tax relief

program with nothing to do, you came up with your phony Proposition 0, which still to this day hasn't provided anything. You talk about coming and making a proposal 30 days before the election. Well, now it's, what, twenty seven days? And you still haven't made a proposal for the people of Illinois. And give us this meaningless gobbledygook about asking us a question that you, as governor of Illinois, ought to know the answer to. That's the incredible thing about this proposition. Here we have an incumbent governor of Illinois who has to ask the people of Illinois, should we hold down spending? Well, I don't need a referendum to tell me that. I know it. I propose something concrete. And again, the choice is clear. Either Mr. Thompson's gobbledy gook or something very, very specific. Thompson then reminded by Kalmus his proposition involves a ceiling on taxes instead of a tax cut. Callis have already said once tonight, and I'll say it again. Thompson proposition doesn't ask voters whether they want their taxes cut. The only phony tax cut program floating around is yours.

Thompson proposition asks the voters whether they want a ceiling, a constitutional and statutory ceiling on taxes and spending at all levels of government in Illinois. We don't have that in Illinois now. It's a radical departure from the way we financed government in Illinois. Now, 22 other states are facing that same question in November. I think it's time that in Illinois, politicians ask the people what they want rather than people having to ask the politicians, but then said something similar to Proposition 13 could work in Illinois. Now, we can't have a similar thing in Illinois as Proposition 13. We know that we can have a version of it. We can have a version that can work. And all the cries and the hughes' and the cries from Mr. Thompson about the catastrophe that's gonna happen. The schools and all this simply is not true. And the people know it's not true. And the facts are that Governor, nobody, Congressman Crane, the League of Women Voters all saw that proposition for the fraud it was.

And when your own party leadership repudiates you and a major, major element of your campaign and your administration, that ought to tell us something about the Thompson proposition, which program is best? Which program will work? Whom should we believe? Answers to those questions will provide some of the bases on which voters will decide between James Thompson and Michael Callous. Except for a few last minute efforts, the campaign and the oratory are now over. And it's up to the electorate to decide who should lead the state of Illinois for the next four years. I'm Stu Toft at that's how it went in this the campaign of 1978. WRAL News has presented an Election 78 special.

The campaign and the candidates on the road to Springfield. The sounds and voices on this program have come from the tape Library of WRAL News from the Capital Information Bureau in Springfield. And for many radio and television stations throughout Illinois. This program has been produced by the public broadcasting stations at the University of Illinois. This is public radio for Illinois and Indiana. W I L L Urbana.