DeKALB | The intense race between Governor Rod Blagojevich and challenger Judy Baar Topinka has been depicted as one of the most heated elections in Illinois history.

Blagojevich has sponsored commercials accusing Topinka of not caring about children and health care, while Topinka accused Blagojevich of illegitimately hiring his friends for jobs they were not necessarily qualified to obtain.

Local political experts are examining whether these tactics are dirtier than past elections in Illinois.

“People use these types of techniques because they work,” said Gerald T. Gabris the director of the Division of Public Administration and an NIU political science professor. “These types of campaign ads are skillfully put together by professionals in order to bring the other candidate down.”

He said the reason this election has had so much more attention is because of the questionable pasts of both candidates.

“This campaign seems to be a lot more negative than past races,” Gabris said. “They both aren’t very strong figures, with a history of corruption and dirty politics.”

Gabris is referring to the corruption scandal leading to the indictment of former Governor George Ryan. Both Topinka and Blagojevich’s names have been linked to the situation.

“In American culture, it is expectable for politicians to use these types of tactics in order to win,” said assistant sociology professor Kei Nomaguchi.

Nomaguchi, a native of Japan, said she hadn’t seen so much mudslinging in an election before coming to the United States 10 years ago.

“In most countries, this type of behavior would be seen as rude,” she said.

“[Politicians] have always used dirty politics,” said history professor Jerome Arkenberg.

Regardless of what’s going on, this election is a first because of the incumbent party in question.

“I haven’t seen anything like this in 20 years,” said Gabris. “Usually the Republicans are winning and there is a Democrat running as a challenger. This one is the other way around.”

Some political experts speculate that Blagojevich has an upper hand in the election.

“Blagojevich will most likely win the election, but with the recent scandals that have been popping up, Topinka might have a chance,” Gabris said.

Ryan Strong is a City Reporter for the Northern Star.