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Gov Candidate Matt Murphy Profiled in Central IL Newspaper

September 3rd, 2009 Polikipedia
GOP gubernatorial candidate says voters seeking a ‘break from the past’
By DAVE FOPAY – H&R Staff Writer
MATTOON – Being a relatively young, second-term state senator isn’t something Matt Murphy believes will hold him back in his bid to be elected Illinois’ next governor.
The 39-year-old Republican from Palatine said he’s been involved in state politics long enough to recognize the problems. Some years, it’s better to go with experience, and other years “it’s better to be new,” he said.
“One of the overarching themes of this campaign is people are tired of being embarrassed by their state leaders,” Murphy said during a stop at the Mattoon Golf & Country Club on Wednesday. “I think they’re looking to make a break from the past.”
Murphy said he thinks he can distinguish himself from politicians from both parties who’ve been the subject of scandals and controversies.
He said he’s “never met George Ryan,” the imprisoned former Republican governor whom he called the “figure of our fatal past.” Current Gov. Pat Quinn can thank “his last two elections to Rod Blagojevich’s coattails,” he said, referring to the recently indicted Democrat who was ousted from the governor’s office.
Murphy said some of the ideas he’s proposed in bills during his three years in the state legislature would become his goals if elected governor. Those include limiting how much time lawmakers can spend in leadership positions and requiring a vote on bills that have a majority of lawmakers sponsoring them, he said.
He also said he thinks Illinois’ “number one priority” should be job creation, starting with eliminating one of the state’s two corporate income taxes. The state budget has to be stabilized by increasing spending no more than the rate of inflation, he also said.
Murphy also addressed the state’s current budget shortfalls and said raising taxes now would “lengthen the pain” of the current recession. His idea for the budget is to eliminate new spending and not increase any current spending levels, and he thinks Illinois residents “are ready for some tough medicine” when it comes to the state budget.
Improving the state’s economy will depend on overcoming the “hurdles” the state puts up and discourage business, Murphy also said.
“That perception and the extent our policies have encouraged it are keeping people from succeeding,” he said.
Murphy is an attorney who’s lived in the Chicago area his entire life. He said he thinks his perception with downstate voters will get a boost because his ideas will help people succeed, and they will no longer be embarrassed by their state government.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in rural areas, and I deeply appreciate them,” he said.
St. Sen. Matt Murphy (photo:McHenryCountyBlog.com)

St. Sen. Matt Murphy (photo:McHenryCountyBlog.com)

GOP gubernatorial candidate says voters seeking a ‘break from the past’

By DAVE FOPAY – H&R Staff Writer

MATTOON – Being a relatively young, second-term state senator isn’t something Matt Murphy believes will hold him back in his bid to be elected Illinois’ next governor.

The 39-year-old Republican from Palatine said he’s been involved in state politics long enough to recognize the problems. Some years, it’s better to go with experience, and other years “it’s better to be new,” he said.

“One of the overarching themes of this campaign is people are tired of being embarrassed by their state leaders,” Murphy said during a stop at the Mattoon Golf & Country Club on Wednesday. “I think they’re looking to make a break from the past.”

Murphy said he thinks he can distinguish himself from politicians from both parties who’ve been the subject of scandals and controversies.

He said he’s “never met George Ryan,” the imprisoned former Republican governor whom he called the “figure of our fatal past.” Current Gov. Pat Quinn can thank “his last two elections to Rod Blagojevich’s coattails,” he said, referring to the recently indicted Democrat who was ousted from the governor’s office.

Murphy said some of the ideas he’s proposed in bills during his three years in the state legislature would become his goals if elected governor. Those include limiting how much time lawmakers can spend in leadership positions and requiring a vote on bills that have a majority of lawmakers sponsoring them, he said.

He also said he thinks Illinois’ “number one priority” should be job creation, starting with eliminating one of the state’s two corporate income taxes. The state budget has to be stabilized by increasing spending no more than the rate of inflation, he also said.

Murphy also addressed the state’s current budget shortfalls and said raising taxes now would “lengthen the pain” of the current recession. His idea for the budget is to eliminate new spending and not increase any current spending levels, and he thinks Illinois residents “are ready for some tough medicine” when it comes to the state budget.

Improving the state’s economy will depend on overcoming the “hurdles” the state puts up and discourage business, Murphy also said.

“That perception and the extent our policies have encouraged it are keeping people from succeeding,” he said.

Murphy is an attorney who’s lived in the Chicago area his entire life. He said he thinks his perception with downstate voters will get a boost because his ideas will help people succeed, and they will no longer be embarrassed by their state government.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in rural areas, and I deeply appreciate them,” he said.

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