By Kevin McDermott POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU

10/02/2006

DECATUR, ILL.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan wasn't a participant in Monday's first formal debate between the major-party gubernatorial candidates. But his legacy of corruption and scandal was center stage.

In almost an hour of impassioned, sometimes angry debate, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich repeatedly hammered at the fact that Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka was a partisan ally to the disgraced former governor when they both served in statewide office together in the 1990s.

Blagojevich warned that electing Topinka would take the state back to its previous situation - "when she was Governor Ryan's treasurer."

Topinka, too, invoked the former governor in the debate, alleging again and again that Blagojevich's federally scrutinized administration is the true heir to the culture of corruption that flourished in Illinois under Ryan.

"We don't have the U.S. attorney's office crawling all over us," Topinka maintained.

Ethics issues reigned in the first and possibly only debate between Blagojevich, a first-term incumbent, and Topinka, serving her third term as state treasurer. The radio debate was broadcast live, with about 200 college students and journalists in attendance at the Albert Taylor Theater at Millikin University in Decatur.

The debate played out in the shadow of continuing questions about hiring and contracting practices under Blagojevich's administration, and whether those jobs are tied to campaign contributions. No charges have been leveled at Blagojevich, but federal subpoenas and indictments have focused on Blagojevich associates.

Debate moderator James Anderson of the Illinois Radio Network opened the event by recalling how Blagojevich came into office four years ago "on a white horse" promising to clean up ethical lapses in government. "Can you look at us with a straight face now and tell us you succeeded?" Anderson asked.

Blagojevich responded with the first of many references he made during the debate to his Republican predecessor, Ryan, who was convicted on federal corruption charges after leaving office. As in his omnipresent television commercials, Blagojevich sought to portray himself as the reformer who cleaned up the fiscal and ethical mess left by Ryan, while chiding Topinka for her partisan political alliance with Ryan when he was governor.

"You have to remember how bad things were four years ago," Blagojevich said. He touted ethics legislation he pushed through early in his administration to crack down on corruption among state employees.

". . . We came to town and we had that mess to clean up and we've been cleaning it up," he said.

Topinka countered that Blagojevich oversees "the most investigated administration in the history of the state of Illinois." She reminded listeners that Blagojevich has been identified as the unnamed "Public Official A" in a federal inquiry into allegations that administration associates tried to solicit political contributions in exchange for state contracts.

Blagojevich himself hasn't been accused of wrongdoing.

Topinka repeatedly attacked Blagojevich for no-bid contracts signed with political contributors during his tenure. She said her office does not sign no-bid contracts, a claim Blagojevich strenuously disputed, claiming his staff has uncovered 300 such contracts in the treasurer's office.

The Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that the Blagojevich administration, seeking a construction manager for the new sport-shooting facility at Sparta in 2003, bypassed a firm that had already started planning the facility and granted the no-bid, multimillion-dollar contract to a Chicago consulting firm that has contributed more than $120,000 to Blagojevich.

Anderson and fellow moderator Craig Dellimore of WBBM Radio attempted, with limited success, to get the candidates to stop attacking each other on ethics and talk about other issues. They got the candidates to voice their agreement on the need for a continuation of Illinois' electric rate freeze, and their disagreement over the revival of Illinois' law requiring parental notification when teenagers have abortions. Topinka favors the law, while Blagojevich is backing a legal challenge of it.

Anderson drew a laugh by informing the radio audience of the appearance of the candidates, both of whom are known for their hair.

"I don't want to say it's her natural color, but it's a natural color," Anderson said of Topinka, whose usual brashly red hair has been toned down. Of Blagojevich, Anderson said, "His hair is perfect, as usual."

Polls have generally shown Blagojevich leading Topinka by 10 to 12 percentage points. But those same polls have also shown a high level of undecided voters and have generally put Blagojevich at less than a 50 percent approval rating, which experts say usually spells trouble for incumbents

Both major-party campaigns said early on they wanted numerous debates throughout the race, but Monday's meeting was the first that both have agreed upon. A second debate is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 26 on WTTW-TV in Chicago, though there have been indications that event could still fall through.

Green Party candidate Rich Whitney was excluded from the debate but was allowed to address the media from the stage afterward. He criticized the other two candidates for what he said was a sparring match rather than a debate.

"They attacked each other. . . . I feel like I just accidentally walked into the set of the Jerry Springer show," Whitney said. "I would have added some substance."

Whitney has registered in the low single digits in most polls.