Brady: Kirk's military record is honorable
SPRINGFIELD - GOP nominee for governor Bill Brady defended his party's U.S. Senate nominee Friday, saying that suburban congressman Mark Kirk has served his country honorably despite the recent revelations he had embellished his military record.
"At the end of the day, Congressman Kirk's military service is honorable and you can't take that away from him," Brady said in response to a question from reporters after his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars statewide convention in Springfield.
Kirk was recently criticized for inflating elements of his military record, admitting he "misremembered" what he had done. Kirk, for example, said he came under enemy fire during reconnaissance flights over Iraq in 2000, but there are no records of such events occurring. Kirk also recently said he never won the Navy's award for intelligence officer of the year despite saying so several times. The award was actually an honor for his entire unit.
Gov. Pat Quinn, who often touts his support for Illinois veterans, was noticeably absent from the veterans' event where Brady spoke. Quinn's staff said he was at the funeral of Gunnar Hotchkin, a former Naperville resident who was recently killed in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Brady also told reporters he would support lowering Illinois' minimum wage to match the federal level. The state's minimum wage will increase a quarter to $8.25 an hour July 1. The federal level is $7.25 an hour.
"For the state of Illinois to come in and micromanage wages above the federal minimum wage is a mistake," said Brady, adding that Illinois' current minimum wage is too expensive for businesses to compete and ultimately forces them to leave the state.
Quinn campaign spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said in a statement that Brady's comments show that he's "completely out of touch with the daily concerns of the working families that are the backbone of Illinois."
Brady's solution, Matsoff added, is "to turn the clock back on one of our most essential worker protections."