By Will Stevenson/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – The man who’s raised less than $15,000 for his run at Aaron Schock’s old 18th Congressional District seat came out swinging against the man who’s raised more than $1 million, in the first of two debates before next month’s special election.
Democrat Rob Mellon of Quincy says State Senator Darin LaHood’s fundraising skills make him just like Schock.
“Like Aaron Schock, [LaHood] spends nearly all his time raising money,” says Mellon. “But, don’t you think that the cronies and the special interests expect something from that money?”
LaHood says his fundraising came mainly in small amounts from every one of the 19 counties in the district, and doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to see some campaign finance reform.
“We should have a system where you can google any particular candidate and find out where their money came from, who was the donor,” says LaHood. “We should have a lot more transparency.”
In the wake of Tuesday’s deadly shooting of two employees of a Virginia television station, the two also were asked about gun control — specifically, whether people who buy weapons at gun shows should be subject to criminal background checks. Mellon says he wants to protect Second Amendment rights while requiring background checks so that people who shouldn’t have guns, can’t get them.
“Can we knock it out or eliminate it entirely? No,” says Mellon. “But, we can do the best we possibly can to make sure that the current laws on the books are enforced.”
LaHood agrees that current laws should be better enforced, but something else needs done.
“I’m all for using taxpayer money to fund mental illness [treatment] — to get to people who need that,” says LaHood. “Taxpayer money should be spent on that.”
One of the few other ways the two agreed: Mellon and LaHood both want the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba to end.
The debate was hosted by the State Journal-Register. Another debate is tonight in East Peoria.
