Murphy says he's ready to monitor the governor -- if necessary

State Sen. Matt Murphy tells voters if they elect him lieutenant governor he will keep an eye on the state's chief executive.

But if Murphy's favorite - former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna - ends up in that spot, the Palatine lawmaker says he doesn't believe close scrutiny is necessary for him.

"I don't frankly envision having an issue with McKenna from an ethical standpoint," Murphy told the Daily Herald editorial board Monday.

Murphy said his self-appointed role as watchdog would focus on investigating state government appointees, boards and top employees to weed out corruption.

"It isn't necessarily the governor you are going to focus on," said Murphy.

But challenger Randy White, a former downstate county commissioner from Hamilton, argued that Murphy can't be an effective watchdog over a governor who helped him raise campaign cash.

"When this person is controlling all the purse strings, how long is it going to take?" White said about becoming beholden to the governor. "I have no one controlling my purse strings."

McKenna of Chicago is campaigning with Murphy, but the two will appear on separate ballot lines in the Feb. 2 primary. Whoever wins the GOP primary for lieutenant governor will appear on a general election ticket with whoever wins the primary for governor.

White also railed against the domination of state government posts by Chicago area politicians and he blasted McKenna's leadership of the party because he endorsed candidates who didn't always agree with the GOP platform on social issues like abortion.

"When I get to heaven, I have to answer to my lord, not the chairman of the Republican Party," said White, who is also a chaplain.

Meanwhile, both candidates blasted Quinn for backing Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"To say he deserved a second term," Murphy said of Quinn in Blagojevich's 2006 re-election campaign, "I found that incredible."

White and Murphy appeared before the Daily Herald editorial board together Monday.

Other Republican candidates for lieutenant governor have been invited to meet with the editorial board in the coming days and weeks. They include Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole, Dennis Cook of Orland Park, Don Tracy of Springfield and Jason Plummer of Edwardsville.