Quinn, Hynes Tangle In Debate

By aaroncynic in News on Nov 18, 2009 9:45PM

Though he wasn’t dressed in a flight suit, Governor Pat Quinn declared “missions accomplished” in today's debate with rival Democratic candidate Dan Hynes. The hour long debate took place at the Union League Club of Chicago, with Hynes and Quinn trading barbs over pension reform, personality traits and the state budget. Quinn reminded attendees that he took over in a very “dark hour” in Illinois history and that he “got missions accomplished whether it’s in ethics or getting things done for ordinary people in the budget or getting jobs.”

After a self-deprecating stab saying he’s neither dynamic nor charismatic, Dan Hynes questioned Quinn’s leadership by using another relic from the Bush era, saying “One of the problems with getting something done is you need to have credibility. You can’t be inconsistent. You can’t flip flop.” Hynes took another jab at Quinn for not speaking out against former governor Rod Blagojevich when “it wasn’t easy.”

Both candidates seemed to favor the hotly debated Gitmo, Illinois issue and both predictably touted their budget plans as being the best. Quinn claimed the state’s budget is stable even though Illinois is still looking down the barrel of an $11 billion deficit. Quinn and Hynes will debate again today from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Campaign For Better Health Care’s 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting. No word if Quinn will have a banner with him.