* Andy McKenna is about to go up with a huge TV buy. Greg Hinz has a few details…

The GOP race for governor is about to take a turn for the negative. The candidate with the biggest war chest is going after his foes for allegedly being too friendly toward tax hikes.

Knowledgeable sources say Andy McKenna Jr., who easily has raised the most cash in the crowded contest, is expected to be on TV by the end of the week with ads that will particularly hit former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, but also zap some others.

Mr. Ryan has led in the latest polls, based in large part on name recognition from his prior races for governor and AG. But he supported a sales tax increase two years ago that benefited the Regional Transportation Authority and public safety in DuPage County. He also served on the board of a civic group that advocated an income tax hike and has been less than categorical in opposing such an increase now.

There’s no video yet, but I’m expecting to get some by tomorrow. I’m figuring that McKenna will probably hit Jim Ryan and Kirk Dillard on taxes, maybe putting one of those now infamous Blagojevich hair wigs on them and maybe even tying them to Pat Quinn’s tax hike proposals. This attack was set up yesterday when McKenna demanded that Ryan and Dillard sign a pledge not to raise taxes…

“I challenge my opponents to sign this pledge and make a commitment to the hardworking men and women of this state that they will not raise taxes,” McKenna said. […]

Dillard signed the anti-tax pledge as a state senator, but that didn’t stop him from voting for a half-cent sales tax increase to bail out Metra, Pace and the CTA and fund other services in the collar counties.

In response to the anti-tax pledge demand, Dillard invoked his experience as a chief of staff to Gov. Jim Edgar in the 1990s and said he has never voted for “a general tax increase.”

Dillard said raising taxes in the current economy “would only make the situation worse.”

Ryan, meanwhile, called the anti-tax group founded by conservative Grover Norquist as “another special interest.”

“I’m an independent Republican,” the two-term attorney general and former DuPage County state’s attorney said. “I don’t have to sign some phony pledge.”

Expect JRyan to go up with a relatively modest TV buy soon.

* Also, Ryan took some heat yesterday when he reiterated his idea to sell or lease the tollway system. From a Kirk Dillard press release…

“It sounds like Jim Ryan is taking a page out of Rod Blagojevich’s playbook and looking for short-term solutions to the state budget problems. It’s a risky scheme that threatens motorists, primarily suburban drivers, with massive toll increases and could put current bondholders in jeopardy.

But when pressed, Dillard backtracked a bit…

Ryan’s support for a tollway sale also drew fire from primary opponent state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale. But then Dillard also seemed open to the idea himself despite ardently opposing a similar idea in 2006.

Dillard said “the only way I would even consider” selling the tollway is to fund public works projects and after talking with experts and local officials.

Bill Brady also pounced and then looked silly. From a press release…

My opponent, Jim Ryan, is opening the door to a very dangerous practice. We should not be making a habit out of selling or leasing taxpayers assets for a short-term bump. That only provides a temporary fix to a much larger problem.

I would consider privatizing the tollway only if it could be managed better for the taxpayers and drivers, but our track record in Illinois suggests that would not be the case. The leasing of Chicago’s parking meters, for example, has been anything but beneficial to taxpayers. The transition was plagued with problems, and rates are so high — increasing 75 cents in some areas in the new year — many taxpayers can no longer afford the convenience of driving to the city. The privatization of the the Chicago Skyway lead to higher tolls, less maintenance and was forced to close down over some holidays because of snow.

And then the Daily Herald…

Yet, just a few weeks ago Brady talked highly about selling the tollway system, saying, “You have to make sure that when you sell it you are selling it in a way that works.”

Contacted about the change of tone, Brady said he thought Ryan planned to use billions of dollars from a sale to fill the state’s massive budget shortfall. But Ryan told the Daily Herald he would use the windfall to fund public works projects, which Brady supports.

Sheesh.

* Related…

* Proft hits radio air waves

* Joliet Tea Party group ranks Andrzejewski top candidate

* NTU endorses Andrzejewski