Republican candidates for 74th district nomination face off

The three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in the race to replace Don Moffitt in the 74th District faced each other last night in a debate sponsored by The Register Mail and Carl Sandburg College.

Candidates Mike DeSutter, Wayne Saline and Dan Swanson all expressed approval of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “turn around agenda” of business reforms that he has insisted the Democratic controlled legislature pass portions of in exchange for increases in revenue.

Mike DeSutter says that he supports Rauner’s “turn around agenda” calling pension reform and the budget the two most important items.

“I think overall, all of his policies have merit to them,” DeSutter said. “We know what’s not working in the state.”

Wayne Saline also voiced support for the Rauner agenda for business reforms but says the piece he sees being available for compromise to solve the budget impasse is collective bargaining.

“With the provisional, that we address that as we go down the road,” Saline proclaimed. “We need to get something done on the budget and the Democrats are not going to cave in on anything.”

Dan Swanson says there are a lot of good plans in Rauner’s agenda.

“The unemployment insurance reform needs to be looked at,” Swanson said. “I think some of the other good points are the term limits. I think that’s non-negotiable.”

All three candidates agreed that compromises must be made in solving the budget impasse saying Democrats in the legislature hold most of the blame.

In a subsequent straw poll that was conducted following the debate,  Swanson won in a landslide with 56 votes, compared to DeSutter’s 28 and Saline’s 20.

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