Senator Bill Brady, Republican candidate for Governor, said today that Governor Quinn’s State of the State message ignored the real job climate in Illinois that is causing people and jobs to flee the state.
“While other states are recovering from the great economic distress of recent years, the Illinois economy is failing the people of Illinois,” Brady said.
“Illinois has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation at 8.6 percent and much higher in some of our communities, and we are the second largest out-migration state in the country. And just troubling is the ominous forecast by Moody’s that Illinois will rank dead last in the nation in job creation this year.”
“That’s not a playbook for success,” Brady said. “Ranking among the worst in the nation is the record of the current administration and the Democrats’ hostility toward the private sector.”
“I didn’t hear any talk about reducing burdensome regulations or lowering the cost of doing business in Illinois through further reforms in our workers compensation program. I certainly didn’t hear anything about his commitment to cut taxes by allowing his 67 percent income tax increase to expire next year.”
“And we don’t need to create an expensive new position in the Governor’s bureaucracy to promote small business. That’s going to be the job of my lieutenant governor, Maria Rodriguez.”
“If we are to restore the vibrancy of Illinois and our economy, we need a complete change of course,” said Brady. “As Governor, I will set Illinois in a new direction that will lead to enhanced investment in Illinois and greater opportunity and financial security for our families and communities.”
“Every dollar that government takes means another dollar that is not available for business investment and growth here in Illinois,” he said.
Brady has pledged to veto any attempt to extend the Quinn tax increase that is set to expire in 2015. He also is opposed to the Democrats’ plan to increase the state’s minimum wage rate and to implement a graduated state income tax.