The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

Republican Plummer visits for Homecoming

Jason Plummer, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, came to Champaign-Urbana to take part in the Homecoming festivities of his alma mater.

After participating in the Homecoming Parade, the College of Business graduate spoke to volunteers and workers at Champaign’s Republican Victory Center.

“It’s great any time the volunteers get to meet the people they’re working for,” said Andrew Proctor, regional director for the Republican headquarters in Champaign.

“The public doesn’t generally get to meet the candidates that they’re voting for.”

There he addressed the workers who have been calling voters across Illinois for Republican candidates and rallying them to continue their work until Election Day.

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Campaigning in Champaign continued the next day, with a tailgate for the University’s football game against Indiana University providing a chance for alums and students, as well as the general public, to listen and meet with the Republican candidate.

Proctor said 250 to 300 people attended the tailgate.

Plummer is the Vice President of Corporate Development at R.P. Lumber Company, a family-owned and family-operated business from downstate Illinois.

The 28-year-old businessman came out of the Republican primaries on top in March and has joined State Sen. Bill Brady in campaigning for the joint ticket of governor and lieutenant governor of Illinois.

The Daily Illini: What made you say, ‘I want to run for lieutenant governor?’

Jason Plummer: That is the question I get more than any other question. It really is … I really don’t think there’s a state that has as much going for it as we do. However, with all that, we’re still the bottom three of every economic and job creation measures. So if it’s not a lack of assets, if it’s not a lack of resources, if it’s not a lack of human talent, it’s clearly a lack of policy leadership in Springfield.

And so I ran because I felt we needed new policy, and the only way we’re going to get new policy in Springfield is through new personalities.

DI: Working as lieutenant governor, even though Quinn was part of (Blagojevich’s) campaign during election season, Blagojevich said Quinn was not part of his administration. If Sen. Brady is elected, how much of policy (will you be helping with)?

Plummer: For the lieutenant governor and the governor to be most effective, they need to work well together. They also need to see eye-to-eye on the issues of consequence. And fortunately, Bill Brady and I do see eye-to-eye on the issues of consequence … We’ve had a great working relationship; our families have known each other a long time.

DI: You are a University alumnus, but right now the University is in a fiscal mess, just like the rest of the state. What are we hoping that you and Sen. Brady can bring for the University?

Plummer: The University, as you said, is in a fiscal train wreck, and it’s not their fault. Students are paying through the nose for tuition. Students are paying through the nose for a lower quality of education. And it’s not just U of I, it’s universities across the state. It’s high schools, it’s elementary schools and people who provide services to the state … that have literally gone bankrupt because they have provided a service to the state of Illinois, and then the state of Illinois doesn’t pay them. If Pat Quinn balanced his checkbook the way he balances the state’s checkbook, he’d be bankrupt.

DI: I noticed in a story about you not making a debate yesterday, that Sheila Simon said your absence was a “fundamental disrespect for the democratic process.”

Plummer: Here’s my response to that: I’m not going to have someone who did not run for office, was not elected by the voters, who was handpicked by the Chicago Democrat machine … to question my democratic principles. The fact of the matter is I’ve debated Sheila, I’m debating her again Monday, and I never agreed to that debate.

And when you’re down in the polls, you tend to get a little desperate, and you tend to make personal attacks and throw a lot of mud against the wall and see what sticks. And Sheila’s getting pretty desperate, and Sheila’s getting pretty nasty. And we’re not going to lower ourselves to her desperate political attacks.The Daily Illini: What made you say, ‘I want to run for lieutenant governor?’

Jason Plummer: That is the question I get more than any other question. It really is … I really don’t think there’s a state that has as much going for it as we do. However, with all that, we’re still the bottom three of every economic and job creation measures. So if it’s not a lack of assets, if it’s not a lack of resources, if it’s not a lack of human talent, it’s clearly a lack of policy leadership in Springfield.

And so I ran because I felt we needed new policy, and the only way we’re going to get new policy in Springfield is through new personalities.

DI: Working as lieutenant governor, even though Quinn was part of (Blagojevich’s) campaign during election season, Blagojevich said Quinn was not part of his administration. If Sen. Brady is elected, how much of policy (will you be helping with)?

Plummer: For the lieutenant governor and the governor to be most effective, they need to work well together. They also need to see eye-to-eye on the issues of consequence. And fortunately, Bill Brady and I do see eye-to-eye on the issues of consequence … We’ve had a great working relationship; our families have known each other a long time.

DI: You are a University alumnus, but right now the University is in a fiscal mess, just like the rest of the state. What are we hoping that you and Sen. Brady can bring for the University?

Plummer: The University, as you said, is in a fiscal train wreck, and it’s not their fault. Students are paying through the nose for tuition. Students are paying through the nose for a lower quality of education. And it’s not just U of I, it’s universities across the state. It’s high schools, it’s elementary schools and people who provide services to the state … that have literally gone bankrupt because they have provided a service to the state of Illinois, and then the state of Illinois doesn’t pay them. If Pat Quinn balanced his checkbook the way he balances the state’s checkbook, he’d be bankrupt.

DI: I noticed in a story about you not making a debate yesterday, that Sheila Simon said your absence was a “fundamental disrespect for the democratic process.”

Plummer: Here’s my response to that: I’m not going to have someone who did not run for office, was not elected by the voters, who was handpicked by the Chicago Democrat machine … to question my democratic principles. The fact of the matter is I’ve debated Sheila, I’m debating her again Monday, and I never agreed to that debate.

And when you’re down in the polls, you tend to get a little desperate, and you tend to make personal attacks and throw a lot of mud against the wall and see what sticks. And Sheila’s getting pretty desperate, and Sheila’s getting pretty nasty. And we’re not going to lower ourselves to her desperate political attacks.

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