Judy Baar Topinka, the Republican candidate for Illinois governor, stopped by DeKalb Thursday morning to meet with various local leaders, along with Republican Sen. Brad Burzynski, and talked about issues like health care, the state’s spiraling debt and underfunded programs.

Gov. Blagojevich skips out on meetings, arrives hours late at times, and generally isn’t available, she charged. Her office is located across from one of Blagojevich’s, but she claimed he’s rarely there.

“There’s nobody there, [the windows] are just dark. You know he’s alive, because we see him in campaign commercials,” she quipped.

Indeed, he is alive and is quite busy, moving across the state day-by-day, said Sheila Nix, a Blagojevich campaign spokeswoman.

On the state’s debt, Topinka said she was surprised at how little involvement the governor had in the formation of the yearly budget, which is still being sorted out. The process had already entered the first stages by the time he made a cameo appearance, she charged.

To that, Nix said Blagojevich is the one who drew up the budget.

Being sure to cover her bases — the sudden “fiscal watchdog” as Nix referred to her — Topinka continued on about how Blagojevich has appropriated state money.

“A million here, a million there,” Topinka said, arms pointing in various directions.

She was citing a fire-worn church in Chicago when there are dozens of others across the state with equal need and various public works projects with pledges for funding that has yet to come. One banker complained about the $150,000 grant awarded to the Sycamore Museum that never came; the museum ended up taking a loan out with a bank.

Further, while projects like the Taylor Bridge in DeKalb, which was completed in 2001, are still awaiting promised funds — $250,000 according to Burzynski — Nix noted that when Blagojevich entered office, the state already had a $5 billion debt.

Also a budget matter, the group of Topinka supporters criticized two programs/decisions of the governor’s: The All-Kids health care program and drawing money out of the state’s pension fund. The state has 60 percent of every dollar projected to come out of the pension fund. When Blagojevich took office, the rate was at 48 percent.

Burzynski summed up the group’s assessment of All Kids, evident by nods of affirmation. The program’s creation lacks “fiscal sanity,” he said, adding “It may be a good idea, but we don’t have the money.”

On pension funds, Topinka remarked that no governor since 1994 has drawn from his or her pension fund, although it may have been difficult to increase at times.

The result, she said, is many state employees — especially teachers — are getting disgruntled at the prospect of their nest egg disappearing.

Roger Scott, principal of Huntley Middle School, said the issue hasn’t yet reached his office. Teachers are still content and the discussion is still politically-based as opposed to crisis-based. But that doesn’t mean the situation is OK, he said.

“If more money was to be taken from the pension fund, the situation will fester into a bigger problem. There is still the issue of how is [the governor] going to repay the money.”