Restoring respect for individual voters and traditional American values.

Illinois: The Sorry State of Denial

Gov. Quinn just gave his "State of the State" address in Springfield.

Here is my response. Please consider downloading and sharing it with your friends.

As expected, our political leadership remains in a state of denial.

Despite a fiscal disaster which is evidenced by repeated credit downgrades until Illinois is now the worst in the nation, he seems to think that legislation on gay marriage, gun control, and raising the minimum wage are what legislators should be doing.

Serious spending reductions or pension reforms are hardly mentioned.

Instead, they're looking for more spending, and more taxes. The tax increases they already imposed after the 2010 election haven't even kept pace with the growth of spending. It's still getting worse, and now there are discussions about a "progressive" income tax to make the "rich" pay even more as their "fair share". This is being disguised as a "fair tax", while it is exactly the opposite of the Fair Tax proposal..

The high unemployment rate is just used as an excuse for even more government programs and spending on "infrastructure" or public sector jobs we cannot afford.

Voters need to stop waiting for a political Superman to appear and save us all from the disaster that has been created in recent decades by our elected officials of both parties in Springfield.

It's not enough to simply "wait until next year". We need to organize successful voters who still believe that limited government is more beneficial than the progressive growth of government without restraint.

Fans may continue to wait patiently for Chicago sports teams to have better seasons, but we shouldn't be patient with our elected officials in Springfield. It's time for voters to organize and replace the players with a new team, under new leadership. Taxpayers are tired of always losing in their political games.

Tags: debt, fiscal, illinois, quinn, taxes

Comment by Bruce Donnelly on February 7, 2013 at 9:33am: Rep. Joe Walsh (formerly IL ith Congressional district representative) posted the following on his new Facebookk page, "Walsh Freedom", regarding Gov Quinn's "State of the State: address.

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"Back in 2011, Gov. Quinn came to DC and sat down with our Congressional delegation. Over the course of that hour, he talked about how wonderful things were going in Illinois. I remember leaving that meeting with a Democrat colleague of mine..., shaking our heads at how utterly out of touch Gov. Quinn seemed. The same thought went through my head as I listened to Quinn deliver the State of the State address yesterday.

We're the least credit worthy state in the country. We have the highest unfunded pension liability in the country. Our unemployment rate is 8.7% -- near the highest in the nation. We're so far in debt that we can't pay our bills. Taxpayers and companies are leaving Illinois at a faster pace than any other state in the country. Our GDP ranks 45th nationally, and even before the 2011 income tax hike, Illinois had the ninth highest overall tax burden nationwide.

To repeat, individuals and companies are flying out of this state -- permanently -- faster than out of any other state in this country ... and this governor spends an hour talking about guns and gay marriage. Then, beyond belief, he proposes to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, which will only drive more companies and jobs out of Illinois.

It's very sad that our governor is so out of touch, but in truth, he's not all that relevant here. One party runs this state, and one man, Mike Madigan, runs that party. That fact won't change until there is an actual Republican party in this state that makes its case for freedom and limited government. It must fight like heck to win people over to that case. For too long, the Democrats and Michael Madigan have allowed Illinois to become the least business-friendly, most in debt, and most corrupt state in the country. For too long, Republicans have been afraid to stand for anything and have been perfectly willing to accept whatever crumbs Madigan and the Democrats would give them.

That has to change or Illinois will never recover."

Comment by Bruce Donnelly on February 7, 2013 at 12:00pm: Here is another response from Adam Andrzjewski and Bruno Behrend at For The Good of Illinois. Adam is a former candidate for Governor in 2010, and likely to run again for something in 2014.

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Yesterday, Gov. Quinn gave the "State of the State". Here's the rest of the story...
The growth of state payroll is exploding. In 2012, the State of Illinois payroll went from 79,451 (2011) to 115,388 employees. We questioned the numbers, Quinn's administration defended them. See chart here.
No stopping salary abuse, even from state officers. The Chief Investment Officer at Teachers Retirement System (TRS) salary spiked from $209,697 (2008) to $357,500 (2011). See salary history.
The College & University payroll is padded with patronage. In 2000, the Illinois College and University system employed 51,439. Today, the system employs 90,213; but, student enrollment is up only 7%. Taxpayers and students are stuck with the bill- that's called "generational theft".

In 2011, the 7th highest salary went to the president of Moraine Valley Community College: $674,210. The junior college chief out-earned the Chancellor at the University of Illinois. See Top 8 Illinois College/University Salaries here.

Governor, the taxpayer is abused at every level of Illinois government... In 2011, a DuPage County engineer cleaned off $340,147, tops among 197,000 local- municipal employees across the state. Click here.
In 2011, 57 village/city managers out-earned all governors of the 50 states. The village manager of small Grayslake topped them all- $259,252. Click here.
Where are the Republicans? Milking the same dairy cow...
Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno just doled out six $20,649 "perks" for "leadership" - those cashing in include Sen. Kirk Dillard and Sen. Bill Brady. Now they make $87,000 plus. In Texas, legislators make a salary of $7,200! Read Alton Telegraph Editorial.
See it all and learn more at www.openthebooks.com.

Comment by Bruce Donnelly on February 8, 2013 at 11:59am: Here's the latest shot across the bow from Rep. Joe Walsh, as shared via Facebook today.

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Illinois is the most corrupt, most broke, worst job creating state in the country. Taxpayers and companies are permanently fleeing from Illinois at a faster rate than out of any other State. Governor Pat Quinn is irrelevant. Michael Madigan runs this State and he and his Democrat followers are responsible for the disaster that is Illinois. The Illinois Republican Party has been a willing accomplice to this crime because they've been missing in action for years and have been only too happy to go along with Madigan and take whatever crumbs of power the Democrats will give them. Illinois will never recover unless the Republican Party quits this cowardly arrangement, reforms, makes the case for freedom and limited government, and fights like hell.

Comment by Bruce Donnelly on February 9, 2013 at 1:37pm: Illinois Policy Institute response to the State of the State - video on Chicago Tonight

http://illinoispolicy.org/news/article.asp?ArticleSource=5509