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Demand more from candidates and media

By: Mike Lawrence

Sunday, November 27, 2005 12:57 AM CST

Picture a 2006 gubernatorial campaign in which the candidates offer thoughtful, even provocative solutions to the challenges facing the people of Illinois - and the media inform, entice and energize voters by demanding more of the contestants and themselves.

Aspirants for the governorship decide the electorate deserves blueprints instead of bromides and candid comparisons instead of contorted commercials.

Television stations recycle some of the millions and millions of dollars they reap from political ads into hours and hours of debates and interviews that provide infinitely more insight into the character, capability and values of candidates than 10-second sound bites.

News-papers find innovative ways, in their print and Internet offerings, to engage readers on relevant issues instead of feeding them a surfeit of campaign strategy and horserace stories that frequently bore, dispirit and disillusion non-insiders.

What is the fairest tax mix to help assure quality education throughout Illinois? How do we bridge academic achievement gaps reflecting problems in society and in our schools that have not been addressed forthrightly? How do we dramatically improve access to health care in rural and underserved areas?

How do we respond effectively and comprehensively to the scourges of methamphetamine and other highly addictive drugs? How do we reinvigorate an economy that lags behind our neighboring states and the nation? What difficult revenue and spending decisions must be made to eliminate a substantial budget deficit and still bolster community mental health services without heaping even more debt on tomorrow's Illinoisans?

Will Gov. Rod Blagojevich and others who file petitions of candidacy in a few weeks discuss these potentially controversial, vital matters intelligently and squarely? Is it probable broadcasters will allow the public's air waves to serve the public's interest? Will more than a few journalists scrutinize the records of the candidates to test the validity of their rhetoric and meet the challenge of dissecting complicated issues in a way that resonates with citizens?

Given the trends in campaigns and journalism, we likely will be treated next year to the same political pandering and superficial, cynical journalism that have demeaned participants in the process and eroded confidence and interest in it.

Republicans salivate over Blagojevich's low job approval rating and federal probes into his administration. They will say Blagojevich, aided and abetted by the Democratic legislative majorities, worsened the fiscal mess he inherited from Republican Gov. George Ryan and betrayed his pledge to end "business as usual" by nurturing the link between state contracts and political contributions. The stump speeches and 30-second spots are predictable. But they will not necessarily produce a mandate for far-reaching remedies.

The Republican hopefuls, especially those who have irresponsibly taken no-tax-increase pledges, should serve up something more substantive than reheated gruel about cutting waste because they know, or should know, we have reached the point where we cannot balance the budget without increasing revenues or cutting funding for health care, education, police and prisons.

Blagojevich should honestly address the hard fiscal questions even as he touts his leadership role in enacting major ethics legislation, advancing parole reform, expanding medical coverage and enhancing early childhood education - and, of course, does his best to brand his GOP candidates as George Ryan acolytes.

We should expect more than we have been getting from candidates and the media. But we probably will not get it unless we demand it - in e-mails and calls to campaign offices, TV stations and newspaper editors, in blog commentaries and in direct appeals to those grasping our hands and asking for our votes. Tell them to treat us with more respect.

MIKE LAWRENCE heads the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.