SPRINGFIELD - As Congress looks for some way to revive the struggling economy, the three candidates vying for retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood's seat have sought to highlight their key differences on financial issues.

Republican Aaron Schock and Democrat Colleen Callahan differ on how best to handle Central Illinoisans who have a worried eye on their retirement accounts.

Schock, of Peoria, favors keeping President Bush's tax cuts in place, saying the moves help create jobs. Schock also favors eliminating the estate tax, which taxes the transfer of estates over a certain value to heirs.

"It only hinders economic growth," he said.

Callahan disagrees, saying Bush has only cut taxes on the most wealthy and that his policies need to be changed given the current state of the economy.

"People got us into this, and different people need to get us out," the Kickapoo Democrat said. Callahan also supports retaining the estate tax.

Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer of Peoria opposes Bush's tax cuts.

All three candidates are vying for a seat from the 18th Congressional District, which includes much of west-central Illinois and covers Logan County and parts of Tazewell and Woodford counties.

Current members of Congress approved a $700 billion plan on Oct. 3 to bail out struggling banks in hopes of stabilizing the economy.

Schafer stands out as the only candidate of the three who would have voted against the plan.

Callahan and Schock both say they would have supported it.

The two differ, however, on whether the government should again try to send checks to people in order to stimulate the economy. This year, the federal government mailed up to $600 per person to most taxpayers, hoping the influx of cash would stifle the economic downturn.

Callahan said if the federal government has the money, it should try the idea again.

"It's a good jolt," she said.

Schock disagreed, saying the money would be better spent in paying to give businesses incentives to expand and therefore hire people. He argued the stimulus checks had no clear long-term benefits.

"I think you need to look no further than the current markets," he said.

Schafer said a better idea would be to spend the money building roads and other federal infrastructure so people would get jobs in the process.

The three candidates would bring various financial backgrounds to Congress as well.

Schock, now a state lawmaker from Peoria, bought his first piece of property in high school and is involved in developing hotels.

Callahan grew up around agriculture and worked as a farm-industry broadcaster in Central Illinois for decades. She now owns a business with one employee doing communication consulting.

Schafer, a museum vice president in Peoria, also works part-time teaching astronomy at Bradley University. He says he doesn't have any professional financial experience.

But Schafer said he's not sure that experience matters given how the current Congress has handled the economy.

"You've got a Congress full of businessmen," Schafer said.