Sep 16, 2008 6:56 pm US/Central
State's Attorney Candidates Debate Over Corruption
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
Republican Tony Peraica and Democrat Anita Alvarez engaged in a fiery debate in their first face-to-face encounter. They are both top candidates for Cook County State's Attorney.
CBS
In Campaign '08, there was a fiery debate between the top candidates for Cook County State's Attorney. Democrat Anita Alvarez and Republican Tony Peraica clashed over corruption and over who would bring real change. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports it boiled down to a battle over credibility.
The two candidates each displayed deep knowledge of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. They accused each other of lacking the credentials to truly reform it, with Republican Tony Peraica suggesting Democrat Anita Alvarez would be controlled by Party bosses - and big contributors.
"In Crook County that's the way the system works. The culture is corrupt," Peraica said. "And Ms. Alvarez, who's been there for 22 years, is simply going to continue the same usual way of doing business that she has engaged in over the last 22 years."
"I have not ever been connected politically, and in fact, I can tell you there are still people in the Cook County Democratic Party today who are scratching their heads wondering how I got here," Alvarez said.
Republican Peraica claims there is so much patronage waste in the State's Attorneys Office right now that he could actually cut the budget by 10 percent, while hiring more frontline state's attorneys and devoting more resources to fighting corruption. Democrat Alvarez insists that the office needs a budget increase.
"I'm amazed at some of the stuff that my opponent literally just makes up," Alvarez said.
After many years in the office, Alvarez said she's seen lack of resources as one reason more anti-corruption cases are not prosecuted.
"What we've got on the county board right now - and they tell us to cut across the board 10, 13 percent each agency – we can't do that," Alvarez said.
"The voters have a choice here, a clear choice," Peraica said. "An ultimate consummate insider versus an outsider, a reformer."
After this first face-to-face encounter between the state's attorneys candidates, there are likely to be two more. One sponsored by the League of Women Voters next month, the other by public television.
The Cook County State's Attorney oversees one of the largest law offices in the state of Illinois with about 900 lawyers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Jewish Celebrities
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
