The Republican challenging Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she's not doing enough to fight corruption.
Paul Schimpf is running on this campaign slogan: "Trust a Retired Marine, Not the Madigan Machine!" A reference not only to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, but also to her father, House Speaker and head of the state Democratic Party, Michael Madigan.
Schimpf says both are part of a political class that has proven it can't police itself.
"I think that you have to have somebody who is not part of the political class that is coming in and putting eyes on the problem. One of my chief qualifications that I have is I was not recruited by the Republican Party, and I haven't worked my way up, and have owed favors and made deals," he said. "I'm somebody that has the actual independent perspective to assess and fight corruption. And that's what I, that's what I think we need -- somebody who is able to come in and look at this from the outside," said Schimpf.
Schimpf, who was a lead lawyer in the trial of Saddam Hussein, also says he'd encourage regular citizens to help him, by using statutes already in place that allow Illinois residents to sue the government for waste and abuse.
A spokeswoman from Lisa Madigan's campaign says those Whisteblower Acts are already used. She points to the Attorney General's involvement with a May settlement that had a construction firm pay $12 million for fraudulently winning state work.