* The Southern Illinois has been interviewing legislative candidates. Here’s part of the paper’s sitdown with Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton)…

“We’ve got to sit down and make things work. We’ve got to tighten our belt up. You’ve got to cut back.” Forby said legislators need to go through the budget line-by-line and look for areas to cut before they consider a tax increase. He said only then would he consider a new proposal to raise revenue.

Asked whether he thought that had not happened in the past, Forby, who has been in the General Assembly since 2001, said there’s more work to be done. He said he’s never voted for a tax increase because of that. Forby said one area where he thinks the state could save money is in the elimination or reforming of Central Management Services, because he believes that agency causes many duplication of services throughout state government. But he did not name other big-ticket items he could support cutting. Rather, Forby talked only in general terms about the need for the state to tighten its belt. […]

Forby said that to the best of his knowledge he has not supported a tax increase during his time in the General Assembly. He voted against temporarily raising the corporate and personal income tax in 2011 that then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law. According to newspaper records, Forby supported a similar bill to raise the income tax in 2009 that didn’t become law, making a last-minute decision to change his vote from “present” to “yes.”

“I cannot go home and throw my nursing homes out in the street, shut my hospitals down and not pay our bills,” Forby was quoted as saying after the vote. “It’s definitely going to hurt me, but you know what sometimes you have to do the right thing. You just can’t lay back and hide all your life.” Forby has been criticized by his opponent for that vote. Forby said this week he didn’t recall that vote.

“I don’t think I’ve voted on taxes since I’ve been up there,” he said.

Still, going forward, Forby said he believes that “everything should be looked at” when it comes to finding ways to balance the budget. Whatever is passed will need bipartisan support, Forby said.

* The Republican Party of Illinois responds…

“It’s time for Gary Forby to stop lying in a desperate attempt to save his political career and start telling the truth. He voted to nearly double the income tax and expand the sales tax.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe […]

(I)n 2009, Forby voted for a $5.2 billion tax hike on all Illinoisans. The bill would have doubled the state’s income tax and expanded the sales tax. Forby then defended his vote, telling the Southern that, “sometimes you have to do the right thing.”

Forby should “do the right thing” and be honest about his record.

* While we’re on the topic of southern Illinois, click here to check out an op-ed by Jimmy Dean, a local radio personality. Dean writes about the various candidates’ positive attributes. Quite refreshing in this day and age.