Quinn for Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn Monday said that GOP nominee Bill Brady shouldn't be running for governor if he won't release his income-tax returns.

At a Chicago press conference at which Mr. Quinn released his own returns, the governor repeatedly ripped Mr. Brady for telling reporters last week there was no good reason to give the public the details of his financial life, including specifics on a construction business Mr. Brady runs in the Downstate Bloomington area.

"He said, 'What's to be gained?' Well, what's to be gained is the trust of the people," Mr. Quinn said. "That's the business of the governor."

If someone thinks their private, personal interests are more important than the public's right to know, "then you shouldn't be running for governor," Mr. Quinn insisted. Such a situation creates "a potential for a conflict of interest with a capital C."

Mr. Quinn then went a step further, indirectly linking Mr. Brady to former governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan, who left office amid corruption scandals. Mr. Ryan is serving time in a federal prison; Mr. Blagojevich is scheduled to go on trial in June.

"We don't need any more shady governors," Mr. Quinn declared. "It's important to make sure the governor of Illinois has no conflict of interest that would be harmful to the people."

The Brady campaign had no immediate response. Such an ethics-based attack could leave Mr. Quinn vulnerable himself, since he twice ran for lieutenant governor on a ticket headed by Mr. Blagojevich.

But Mr. Quinn is correct that it now is routine for candidates and public officials to release their returns. Among those who have done so are President Barack Obama, Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Mark Kirk, who on Monday criticized Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias for filing for an income-tax extension on his 2009 return.

Mr. Quinn's returns were far more pedestrian. He reported total income of $157,122.58 — virtually all of it from his salary as governor. Mr. Quinn did have interest income of $479.42, and a $4,349 withdrawal from his pension plan. He paid about $32,000 in federal and state income taxes.

The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Sheila Simon, reported joint income with her husband, Perry Knop, of $137,127.