DECATUR, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka accused one another of lying about everything from state contracts to property taxes to job growth when they faced off Monday in their first formal debate.

“I think the treasurer makes things up,” Blagojevich said of a Topinka accusation, while she dismissed some of his comments as “patently false and untrue.”

Blagojevich also wants a special legislative session to block an electricity rate increase expected this winter, but was vague on when he hopes to take action.

The Democratic governor also said his administration is trying to “find a way around” an Illinois Supreme Court decision that opens the door to requiring notification of parents before minors can obtain abortions.

Meanwhile, Topinka insisted her education-funding plan would not expand gambling in Illinois, even though it would authorize a casino in Chicago and let existing casinos grow significantly.

She accused Blagojevich of following the same ethical road that led former Gov. George Ryan to federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich has raised record amounts of campaign money from people who wound up with state jobs and government contracts, his administration is under federal investigation and the property taxes on his Chicago home are suspiciously low, Topinka said. She also challenged him to clear up questions over the $1,500 his family got from a friend whose wife had just been given a state job.

“She sure does come out swinging, doesn’t she?” Blagojevich responded before launching his own barrage.