Hard-hitting questions circulated the room as the state’s attorney candidates approached the podium to answer them.

Audience members voiced their concerns anonymously as moderator Corrine Joyner, president of the Coles County League of Women Voters, read them aloud. The candidates had the floor and the attention of the Coles County members who attended.

Thursday night’s forum at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Charleston held the debate between state’s attorney candidates Steve Ferguson, Democrat and the incumbent, Republican Paul Komada and Green Party candidate Todd Reardon.

Each had a two-minute opening statement, two-minute responses and a one-minute closing statement.

Joyner posed the first question, asking the candidates what they would change about the way the current state’s attorneys office was run.

Komada was the first to respond, jumping on Ferguson for not pushing competitive salaries for the assistant state’s attorneys and having a low conviction rate.

Reardon countered the claim by suggesting that the office be reorganized and positions cut in order to increase pay.

“I think one of the first things I would do is go through the budget,” he said. “It looks like Knox County, which is about the size of Coles County, is functioning at about $100,000 less. Can we do less? Yes, we can. Right now, we have more assistant attorneys than courtrooms. We need to cut the attorneys down to the ones who do a good job and pay them more.”

Ferguson responded, saying he believed the last 16 years of his tenure had been effective and the assistant attorneys starting salaries are competitive with the surrounding counties.

It is the moving up that gets them in trouble, he said.

Budget reform is something that comes with each new term, he added.

Joyner asked the candidates stances on the death penalty. Reardon responded first by explaining his opposition to the death penalty.

“As much as we want to believe there are not, there are mistakes,” he said. “You can’t say sorry to a corpse.”

Ferguson’s view was completely the opposite, citing Illinois law as justification.

“It is Illinois state law, and you cannot ignore the law,” he said. “I will continue to seek the death penalty.”

Komada said he agreed with Ferguson, but sympathized with Reardon.

“I have had to give the sentence of death twice in my career as a judge, and it is the most sobering thing you can ever do,” he said. “But it is the law and as long as it is law, I will continue to seek the death penalty.”

Other questions surfaced about the candidates’ thoughts on the use and misuse of plea bargains, case priority and sexual offenders rights to probation.

Core values remained the same, but they emphasized their differences in practice.

Only one other debate took place out of the five scheduled for the forum Thursday night. County Board District 9 candidates Janice Eads and Jim Palmer both took questions from the audience and explained their platforms.

Eads appealed to the audience with her community involvement and experience.

Palmer’s platform centered mainly on FutureGen and how his scientific experience with the geology of coal and petroleum would be an asset to the council.

County Board candidates Joy Russel and Mark Degler both gave opening statements but could not debate because their opponents, Stan Metzger and Shane Rogers, did not attend.

Coles County coroner Republican candidate Ed Schniers, who was the only one to show for the coroner debate, gave an opening statement.

Joyner said Democratic candidate Mike Nichols was extremely ill.

There was no response from Green Party candidate Michael Snow, who hasn’t attended a debate.

Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].