Schilling Accepts Debate Invite

After weeks of silence from the Bustos campaign, U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) is now moving forward in an effort to schedule debates.

On July 9th, the Schilling campaign sent a letter to the campaign of former Alderwoman Cheri Bustos (D-East Moline) regarding a proposed meeting to meet independently to discuss a debate schedule. The Schilling campaign followed up with several more attempts to contact the Bustos campaign, each of which went unanswered.

"I look forward to talking about my record of fighting to create jobs, working to balance the budget, and leading by example," Schilling said. "The people of this area want to hear from their congressional candidates, and I believe this debate will provide a stark contrast between myself and my opponent."

The Schilling campaign has accepted an invitation from Moline, Ill.-based WQAD-HD News 8 and the Dispatch and Rock Island Argus to debate live from the WQAD studio with WQAD's morning anchor, Jim Mertens, as the moderator. The debate is tentatively scheduled for October 10th at 6:30 p.m. The debate feed will be available to all local, state, and cable media. Radio outlets are also invited to broadcast remotely.

Jon Schweppe, communications director for the Schilling campaign, expressed disappointment at the Bustos campaign's lack of interest in sitting down and hashing out a fair debate schedule.

"We had hoped to have a civil discussion with the Bustos campaign about debates. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and now we're moving on," Schweppe said. "We hope that Cheri Bustos will ultimately do the right thing and debate. WQAD and the Dispatch-Argus are major news outlets in the Quad City area that will provide a neutral playing field for both candidates to discuss the issues and their visions for our nation's future."

For more information about the specifics of the debate format and feed availability, contact WQAD News Director Alan Baker at alan.baker@wqad.com or 309-736-3310.