The mayoral campaign provided drama again this week with the "Jerry Springer Show"-like scene of Carol Moseley Braun's launching into an animated tirade directed at Patricia Van Pelt Watkins -- a long-shot candidate and, until that moment, low-profile rival in the Feb. 22 election.

The cementing of Rahm Emanuel's residency and candidacy by the Illinois Supreme Court could have ushered in discourse that at last would focus on the daunting issues facing whoever replaces Richard M. Daley, Chicago's longest-serving mayor. But the race, while still long on spectacle, remained short on specifics.

The sharply personal feud over what drugs Ms. Watkins did or did not abuse decades ago was not the only sideshow that allowed the candidates to continue avoiding substantive discussion of arguably the most difficult and vital topic: the city's dire financial picture.

At first glance, it might seem that Gery Chico, the former president of the city school board, broached a serious fiscal matter with his campaign's incessant e-mail and news conferences about what Mr. Chico dubbed "the Rahm tax" on luxury services. Mr. Emanuel said the revenue generated by the tax would be offset by a reduction in the sales tax, while Mr. Chico disputed that accounting.

In either case, the plan would barely factor into a city budget that is hundreds of millions of dollars out of balance every year. The candidates for mayor have not yet explained what they think the city should do to prevent spending from continuing to far outstrip revenue.

"None of them are offering any kind of plans to close that $600 million or $700 million gap," said Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward). "They are talking in terms of things that sound flashier and less about the ways they would actually come in and shake up the system, which wouldn't make them any friends."

Aides to Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Chico say the candidates will soon present financial platforms.

For now, you can see how much detail they are willing to go into at www.chicagonewscoop.org. There, you will find questionnaires that four of the candidates completed with their positions on city fiscal matters. Ms. Braun and William Walls, a perennial candidate, were the only two mayoral hopefuls who did not return completed questionnaires.

Although she hasn't detailed it, Ms. Braun said she also has a plan. After accusing Ms. Watkins of being "strung out on crack" -- a substance that Ms. Watkins said she has never seen, much less smoked -- and before she ultimately said she was sorry, Ms. Braun found time to defend her remarks at a live, in-studio appearance on a TV news program.

"This is a huge race," Ms. Braun said. "This is about what we are we going to do to address the problems of the city of Chicago. I have a platform, I have a plan, I have a record, I have the experience to do the job, and that's what I would like to talk about."

For all of the candidates, time is running out.

First Published: February 4, 2011, 5:00 a.m.