The candidates for Illinois treasurer face off Wednesday morning for the first debate in a tight race.
Republican State Representative Tom Cross and Democratic State Senator Mike Frerichs both want to be the next state treasurer. It’s a race that’s been surprisingly negative, and Frerichs’ campaign manager Zach Koutsky says it’s all Cross’ fault:
“Our 22-year statehouse opponent has been smearing every time Sen. Frerichs comes out with a proposal to improve an existing program in the office.”
“I don’t think Tom Cross got into this race to be a Frerichs fact checker, but at some point you have to correct people on the mistakes they made and unfortunately that’s been the position we’ve been put in,” says Cross’s campaign manager, Kevin Artl.
The Frerichs campaign paints its candidate as the one with the experience needed to fix the treasurer’s office. While Cross is promising to be a more activist treasurer - pledging to sue the general assembly if they don’t pass a balanced budget.