The Republican challenger to state Rep. Jay Hoffman outlined his plan for fixing the state's financial issues Thursday during a news conference in Edwardsville.

Among candidate Dwight Kay's major points were:

* Cut wasteful spending at the line-item level with a statewide audit.
* Vote against any tax increase.
* Cut business taxes and fees to bring jobs back to Illinois.
* Support term limits.
* Reform worker's compensation and pension programs.
* Post all government expenditures online.

"I think the people in Springfield owe us an apology," said Kay, of Glen Carbon, referring to what he called Illinois' financial "death spiral."

"Politicians promise the world and deliver peanuts. ... We need to think like businesspeople, not politicians. We need public servants, not politicians."

Kay stayed away from criticizing Hoffman, a 10-term Democrat from Collinsville, directly. Instead, he criticized what he called a "borrow-and-spend" atmosphere in Springfield.

"You don't find jobs. You don't create jobs," Kay said. "You create an environment that grows jobs."

For education, Kay said he wanted to see more money going directly to the classroom.

"Had the state managed its budget correctly ... we wouldn't be talking about how we're funding schools," he said.

Hoffman said he believes Illinois residents are tired of partisan politics. "I believe it's imperative in the near future that the finger-pointing stop, the accusations stop, and we begin to show accountability in Springfield and stop just going along with our party leaders," Hoffman said.

Hoffman pointed out that he was one of only three Democrats to go against his party to vote against the current budget and also vote against increasing the state income tax. "I didn't think it was balanced and didn't show foresight," he said. "I've consistently stood up against the powers that be in Springfield and fought for the people in our district, whether it's for infrastructure improvements or the most sweeping ethics reforms in state history."

Hoffman also said he believes fixing the state's budget woes should come before talk of raising the income tax.

"I would not approve any increase in income taxes prior to getting our house in order," Hoffman said. "We need to start being fiscally responsible before we even consider asking people to give more money to the state."

Kay unsuccessfully challenged Hoffman in 2008 with a heavily-funded campaign that focused on Hoffman's close ties to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and the campaign got rough in the final weeks, with robocalls and television commercials accusing each other of sleazy politics.