AP Interview: Cohen admits he doesn't have answers

Editors Note: The first in an occasional series of interviews with Illinois political candidates

Scott Lee Cohen doesn't just admit that he can't spell out how he would solve the state's problems as governor. He embraces it.

The independent candidate says it proves he's leveling with voters instead of making the empty promises other candidates offer.

At the same time, Cohen refuses to answer most questions about allegations that he held a knife to his girlfriend's throat, threatened his wife, used steroids and failed to pay child support -- accusations that forced him off the Democratic ticket in February.

"What happened in my life five years ago has no effect or bearing on my being able to implement sound financial and social policies," Cohen said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Pressed on the claims, Cohen denied ever threatening or harming anyone. His ex-wife's order of protection against him was "a sneaky, rotten maneuver" in an ugly divorce and his ex-girlfriend wasn't sincere when she said he was unfit to hold public office, Cohen claimed.

Cohen acknowledged he's asking people to take a leap of faith by voting for him, but argued that he can't do any worse than the "career politicians" now in charge.

"Sometimes having no knowledge and being wet behind the ears is better than having too much," Cohen told the AP.

Cohen, a pawnbroker and real estate speculator, faces long odds in his independent campaign. Opinion polls have him in the single digits. If voters know him at all, it's as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor who left the ticket amid scandal.

But with millions of dollars to spend promoting himself, particularly with radio ads highlighting job fairs he has organized, Cohen could easily affect the outcome of a race where neither Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn nor Republican challenger Bill Brady has caught fire.

Cohen, 45, dismisses both major-party candidates.

Quinn is incompetent and "changes his tune every time the wind changes direction," Cohen said, while Brady ran his Bloomington home-building business into the ground and would continue business as usual in Springfield.

"Quinn don't have a clue. Brady don't have a clue," Cohen said.

On key issues, the former Democrat sounds like a Republican.

Cohen flatly ruled out raising income or sales taxes to help fill a $13 billion hole in the state budget.

The key to rescuing the budget, Cohen said, is creating jobs that would then generate tax revenue. He proposed eliminating $2 billion in special-purpose funds and using the money to help businesses move to Illinois or expand in the state.

He said eliminating government waste -- such as overlapping or outdated social services -- could cut spending by $2 billion. That would amount to nearly 10 cents in every dollar where Illinois has the option of cutting. Many experts consider that an unrealistic goal, particularly after cost-cutting by other governors.

Cohen could not offer any examples of government services that he considers unnecessary. His chief example of waste was the fleet of aircraft the governor and other officials sometimes use to travel the state -- an expense that amounts to a fraction of 1 percent of the overall deficit.

Cohen promised to provide more detail on cutting social services and special funds later in the day. The material his campaign sent did not address social services at all and included only two examples of special funds to eliminate, with a total value of about $2.5 million.

If Cohen succeeded in finding $2 billion in waste, what else would he do to fill the budget hole?

"That is a very good question. I guess the only way to answer that is to turn to some of the experts and ask them," Cohen said.

Cohen was arrested in 2005 on domestic battery charges, accused of pushing his then-girlfriend's head against a wall and of the knife incident. The police report noted abrasions on her neck and hand, but the charges were dropped after she failed to appear for a court date.

When the incident came to light after he won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, Cohen said his ex-girlfriend would confirm nothing had happened. Instead, she issued a statement saying he was unfit to hold office.

His ex-wife, Debra York-Cohen, also had accused Cohen of violent behavior, including trying to force her to have sex, and sought an order of protection against him in 2005 as she filed for divorce. She said in February the violence was fueled by his abuse of anabolic steroids and that Cohen's behavior improved once he stopped using them.

"That's who he was then. That is not who he is now," she told Chicago's WTTW-TV.

In his AP interview, Cohen denied any misconduct and said he hasn't taken steroids in six years. Cohen said his then-wife sought an order of protection as a divorce tactic.

"A lot of times these women and their lawyers try to get the man out of the house," he said. "It's just a sneaky rotten maneuver."

The AP was unable to locate a current phone number for her. Her former attorneys did not respond to a message.