Southern Illinois has not hosted a governor's debate during the general election campaign in 20 years.

Our newspaper, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and WSIU public television are hoping to change that.

The morning after the March 21 primary, we plan to send letters to the Democratic and Republican primary winners, inviting them to debate Southern Illinois issues Sept. 5 at the Marion Civic Center or on the SIUC campus. It would be the first debate in Southern Illinois since 1986, when Republican Jim Thompson and Democrat Adlai Stevenson III squared off in Carbondale.

Candidates who have come through Southern Illinois for primary campaign stops verbally have committed to the idea. They agree we're often shut out of the debate because the late push revolves around Chicago voters.

"It's critical because issues that affect Southern Illinois are quite different than ones affecting Chicago and the collar counties. It's absolutely necessary that you have a debate in downstate Illinois," said Jak Tichenor, public affairs producer at WSIU and host of the Illinois public TV's "Illinois Lawmakers" series.

Southern Illinoisans want answers about meth, coal, ethanol and gun control. Our business climate is different than Chicago. We have pockets of unemployment and a senior citizen population, like Chicago, so we'll want to know about jobs and health care.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich told The Southern editorial board in January he wanted to debate here. Deputy governor Bradley Tusk said the governor will be attending the Du Quoin State Fair on Labor Day weekend, so it would be a natural for him. Democratic challenger Edwin Eisendrath said he would push for a Southern Illinois debate.

Republican Judy Baar Topinka likes the idea. GOP candidates Ron Gidwitz and Bill Brady said they were on board.

The general election is eight months away. Candidates' priorities shift. They change their minds.

But this time, Southern Illinois will be ready for the candidates to answer our questions.

Poll on Sunday

The Southern Illinoisan and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have teamed up for another gubernatorial poll. It will appear in Sunday's newspaper.

The telephone survey of 800 likely voters statewide was conducted Monday through Wednesday by Research 2000, a Maryland-based firm.

The poll has a general margin for error of 3.5 percent.

Less than two weeks before the primary, Blagoevich is trying to shore up support among Democrats in a race against Eisendrath, a former Chicago alderman.

"I am faced with a candidate with an overwhelming war chest; the governor has raised between $15 (million) to $20 million," said Eisendrath, who has spent more than $1 million on his own campaign. "My strategy has been to talk about issues to get my name recognition up until the final two weeks of the campaign. I think I have done that. I am giving voters a choice."

Topinka, the GOP frontrunner, was ahead of her closest challenger by a 2-to-1 margin in a February Chicago Tribune poll, so it will be interesting to see how effectively attack ads by Jim Oberweis and Gidwitz have worked against her.

Fantasy Baseball

If you're a baseball fan, we're starting a feature Sunday that you'll need all season.

It's called Fantasy Baseball and will provide advice for readers who like to play in rotisserie leagues. Fantasy and rotisserie teams are a passion across the country, with fans joining leagues, picking their own teams, for fun and for profit.

Every week in Sports, you'll find trade advice, indicators on players trending up and down, the week ahead in baseball and a Cardinals focus.

Saluki Extra

The Sports section will have extra space next week to cover the Salukis in the NCAA tournament.

Look for a Saluki Extra front page in Monday's newspaper, with analysis of SIU's first-round opponent from reporter Paul Klee, capsules of teams in SIU's region and commentary from Les Winkeler.

We will have Saluki Extras, too, the day SIU plays and the day after its games.

On The Southern's Web site, Sunday afternoon, we'll post a story on SIU's opponent as soon as it's announced. Click on to www.thesouthern.com if you miss the announcement on television. It will be posted under Breaking News.

James Bennett is editor of The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at (618) 351-5033 or james.bennett@thesouthern.com.