 Brady, the Republican candidate for Illinois governor,
bristled last week when a reporter asked about his proposal for a 10
percent, across-the-board cut in state spending."I've never said
'across the board.' I've never said
'across the board.' You find it
on tape," the Bloomington state senator said.
In fact, Brady has called for "across the board" cuts on multiple
occasions.
In a Jan. 13 debate, Brady said: "I've called for 10 percent
across-the-board cuts. I don't want to bankrupt any state programs,
but everyone's going to have to share in the sacrifice.
The News-Gazette of Champaign-Urbana quoted him in December as
saying, "I have called for a 10 percent cut across the board in
every area of state government."
On April 15, Brady said, "A 10 percent across the board is simply
1 percent per year of what we've done over the last 10 years."
His Democratic opponent, Gov. Pat Quinn, jumped on Brady's
contradiction Monday.
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 "It's important for voters to ask: Is this someone who doesn't
comprehend his own budget proposal? Or is it that Sen. Brady simply
cannot recall his numerous statements about the budget over the past
five months?" the Quinn campaign said in a statement.
The Brady campaign did not immediately respond to a message
seeking comment Monday afternoon.
When Brady denied calling for across-the-board cuts, he went on
to say that he wants to reduce state spending by 10 percent and that
all parts of the government would be on the chopping block. He said
that's not the same thing as saying all programs should be cut by
the same flat 10 percent.
[Associated Press]
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