* Sen. Bill Brady tried to tack as far to the right as possible on taxes during last night’s GOP gubernatorial candidates debate…

Some candidates occasionally questioned their opponents’ conservative credentials for not swearing to oppose a tax increase under all possible circumstances.

“I’m the only one who will live up to that standard,” said Bill Brady, a state senator from Bloomington.

And he took a hard line on fumigation…

State Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington was alone among the six GOP candidates on hand in saying he’d oust those brought in by former Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich who remain employed by Gov. Pat Quinn.

“Absolutely, I’d fumigate them,” Brady said. […]

Former state Attorney General Jim Ryan of Elmhurst cautioned against “guilt by association” in considering who to keep employed.

Brady stood almost alone on the need for high-speed rail, perhaps because the proposed line goes through his home town…

Brady: “We absolutely have to invest in our infrastructure. Our capital projects are critically important to us, and our high-speed rail is one of those.”

* Ryan: “I have serious reservations about high-speed rail. I don’t think this is the time to even think about spending money on that project.”

And Brady was with most of the pack in his openness to more short-term borrowing…

Brady: “It’s unfair to them to hold back cash. That money needs to be borrowed and then repaid.”

Ryan: “If they have to pay their bills, I would support some short-term borrowing. The reason they’re in this position is because for the last eight years they’ve mismanaged our state finances.”

Dillard: “From time to time, it is appropriate for the state to short-term borrow.”

* In other debate news, here is the Tribune editorial board’s “debate” with the various Democratic US Senate candidates. Cheryle Jackson showed up late…

David Hoffman repeated his claim that he would leave the Bush tax cuts in place during the recession and repeal them after the recession ends. He said he would be willing to “look” at lowering the tax base if the budget ever returned to “surplus.” That’s not quite what he wrote in his Tribune questionnaire…

Once our economy recovers, I would remove the tax cuts for individuals at upper-income levels as a deficit-reduction policy, but would support returning the tax rates to their current level when our deficits are under control.

* And here’s the Republican US Senate debate…