SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said that Governor Quinn’s State of the State speech was big on ideas, but short on details pointing most specifically to his lack of a plan to eliminate the $8 billion of debt Illinois is saddled with.
“Gov. Quinn had some great ideas, but he left out key points such as how to pay for the new programs he is proposing, and didn’t touch on the biggest topic of all – the budget,” Sen. Rezin said. “He spoke of having the government create jobs, but we all know that is not the best way to employ people in Illinois. If government creates jobs, it’s the taxpayers who pay for that whereas if it’s left to the private sector, the free market reigns.”
Sen. Rezin noted that some of the initiatives Gov. Quinn mentioned were positive, such as the elimination of the natural gas utility tax and the tax credits for employers who hire veterans.
“The tax credit for those who hire veterans is an idea I fully support,” she said. “It’s unacceptable how high veteran unemployment is in the state and country. If these men and women have served our country, we need to do what we can to help them.”
Despite these good initiatives, Sen. Rezin said she was disappointed to see that the Governor did not provide specific ideas for addressing some of the largest issues facing the state.
“At the end of the day, he didn’t speak about the out of control spending that state can’t seem to get away from, the massive unfunded liabilities or the state’s backlog of bills,” Sen. Rezin said. “Gov. Quinn mentioned that the state is back on track. I’m not sure where he’s drawing that conclusion from, but we are not even close to being back on track. We’re projected to have a backlog of $34.8 billion in five years. I wouldn’t consider that being back on track.”