By AL MANNING
A political columnist for the Slate Journal Register, he is a native of Springfield and was graduated with a B.S. in journalism from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He has written about politics and government in the Capital City for the past Five years.

Dan Walker meets the public: the accountability sessions

A profile of the Governor from the transcripts of accountability sessions he has held almost twice a month since elected

AT PRECISELY 7:30 p.m. he strides into the school auditorium. The crowd usually gives him a standing ovation. He banters for a few minutes and introduces his wife, Roberta, and the local State legislators. After a joke or two to loosen up the audience, he says it's time to get down to business because the questions will be limited to 55 minutes. The tape recorders and television cameras are turned on while a few people head to the microphones scattered throughout the crowd.

Gov. Dan Walker is masterful when he presides at one of his regular accountability sessions.

"Governor, a special education bill [mentioned by number] passed the General Assembly unanimously. The vote was 143 to zero in the House and 53 to zero in the Senate. And yet you vetoed it. Why?"

"It's not the happiest veto of my life," Walker said. "It's not a popular subject to be against. The veto troubles me. But it would have cost $15 million on top of the already large increase in my budget. If I can philosophize here for a minute: Everybody wants more money, for bicycle paths, for special education, for everything. If I give it, it means an increase in taxes. I'll not do that."

So the questioner is stranded. Sure, he may have a very good cause, but the rest of the people in the room don't want their taxes to go up.

And that's the way it continues. When someone asks for a new government program, it's immediately linked with higher taxes. When the president of the local NAACP asks what is going to be done to help black people, the Governor says he does not have the power to give blacks everything they want. When he is asked about putting government land back on the tax rolls, he blames the legislature for not taking the necessary action. He's got an answer for everything. If it's a question of a technical nature, he reminds the audience of the words his father taught him: "I'll Find out."

Serious difficulty only once
Only once, at a Jacksonville accountability session, did Walker have serious difficulty with a question. A Baptist minister quoted a newspaper article which he saved from the campaign. "There is no more regressive tax in the world than the lottery," Walker had said May 26, 1972, in Rockford. "A lottery is a revenue burden on the poor. If the State needs revenue, let's raise it in the traditional way — through open, honest taxation — and not turn to gambling."

When the minister finished reading the article, he added: "The Bible was hardly cold from the oath of office when you put all of us in bed with the Mafia. In all kindness, I feel betrayed. It's hard for a parent. In campaigning you have one story and in reality another story."

The Governor squirmed out of the predicament.

"I never said I was against the lottery," Walker said. "What I did say was I was troubled with it. Studies show not only poor people buy tickets. I never said I was against it on moral grounds. I became convinced I was wrong and I am man enough to admit it," Walker said. "I understand you have your view, but a number of people have fun with the lottery."

By the time he was done telling a story about an elderly lady who enjoyed the lottery because it gave her something to look forward to in her humdrum life, the audience was applauding.

The Governor can be rough sometimes, too. After he was badgered six times in OIney about a proposed reservoir he ridiculed the questioner;

12/Illinois Issue/Juanuary 1975