From the Schilling for Congress campaign…
EAST MOLINE, IL–Bobby Schilling, Republican candidate for Congress in the Illinois 17th District, released the following statement in response to Rep. Hare’s recent demands regarding debates:
“The 17th District consists of over 650,000 people and five media markets. I don’t think that two debates carried by just two TV stations is fair to the voters. Quincy and Macomb encompass large areas of the district with thousands of voters. It makes no sense to exclude these two cities from having debates, especially when Rep. Hare agreed to have a debate in Springfield, which only encompasses 4% of the district. I also believe there is a major conflict of interest by keeping these debates exclusive to public television. Rep. Hare has direct campaign ties to the President of Network Knowledge, a company that licenses public television stations in Springfield, Macomb, and Quincy. I believe we should open the debates to all media outlets that want to broadcast them. I also believe the debates should be held in front of a live audience with each campaign getting an equal amount of tickets for attendance. This will create a fair environment with complete transparency for the voters of the 17th District.”
Schilling requests the following:
- Four debates to be held in the Quad Cities, Springfield, Quincy, and Macomb
- The debates should be held in front of a live audience (with tickets distributed fairly)
- An open media policy allowing any media outlet the rights to broadcast the debates
- A neutral moderator for each debate to be agreed upon by both campaigns
Schilling, a native of Rock Island, graduated from Alleman High School and attended Black Hawk College. Schilling, a local business owner, is the Republican candidate for the 17th Congressional District in Illinois. Bobby is running on a platform of bringing jobs and real representation back to the 17th District. Earlier this year, Schilling conducted a 34-city “Bob’s for Jobs” tour, where he met with voters and employers all across the 17th District.
For more information about Bobby Schilling, please visit his website at http://www.bobby2010.com.