 Quinn is expected to make employment a cornerstone of his
State of the State address at noon Wednesday.
"Gov. Quinn will lay out an ambitious agenda for creating jobs
and paving the way to long-term economic growth," said Annie
Thompson, a spokeswoman for Quinn.
But the governor is going to need more than just talking points
to win over lawmakers, including many of his fellow Democrats.
"One of the issues we have, as a state, is that we're not
considered to be too business-friendly," said state Rep. Jerry
Costello, D-Smithton. "That's an image that we have to change."
Costello, who represents an area that stretches from Metro East
to Pinckneyville, is quick to caution that if Quinn wants to create
jobs, those jobs must come from the private sector.
"The government cannot support employment for all," Costello
said.
Todd Maisch, vice president for government relations at the
Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the interests of
businesses in the state, agreed.
"We have to give the governor credit. He is willing to engage
CEOs. But we want to see him get outside of his comfort zone and
engage employers on many levels," Maisch said.
Maisch said he, too, wants to hear "concrete plans" from Quinn.
State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, said the governor must lay
out specific and big plans.
"In my district, we have the lowest unemployment in the state of
Illinois, and that's not an accident," said Jacobs. "We have kept
our companies strong. And that's the one thing we need to focus on;
we're not in this alone."
The unemployment in the Quad Cities, which includes East Moline,
is at 7.8 percent, according to the Illinois Department of
Employment Security.
Republicans have less faith in the governor's message.
State Rep. David Leitch, R-Peoria, said Quinn has not done enough
to make Illinois the kind of place companies want to move to or
expand in.
Leitch said the workers' compensation reforms, signed into law
last year, were not enough to make Illinois competitive. Leitch also
points to medical malpractice costs and regulatory hurdles as chains
holding the state back.
"I would say the administration has a lot to learn about what it
takes to make businesses grow," said Leitch.
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Republican lawmakers are quick to point to the state's
unemployment rate, which last month sat at 9.8 percent. Quinn
entered his job in January 2009 with an 8.1 percent unemployment
rate, but then watched as the state jobless rate skyrocketed to 11.2
percent in January 2010.
Nationally, the jobless rate dipped to 8.5 percent in December.
New unemployment figures will be released Friday.
All told, the state lost 400,000 jobs during the Great Recession,
according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
In 2011, Illinois added 52,600 jobs, said Greg Rivara, spokesman
for the Department of Employment Security. The state has added
95,900 jobs since January 2010, Rivara said.
State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said Illinois could add
thousands more jobs, if the governor would sign legislation to allow
new casinos to be built in the state.
Lawmakers approved that plan in May, but they have been holding
it as they try to negotiate a compromise with Quinn, who does not
like the legislation's carve-out for slot machines to be placed at
horse racing tracks.
Rockford is one of five cities hoping for a new casino, but
Syverson said he fears the governor's job message will not include a
pledge to sign that pending casino legislation.
"Clearly, in the Rockford area, it is a concern," said Syverson.
"Because if Rockford doesn't (build a casino) and Beloit, Wis.,
does, two minutes away, it would have a devastating effect."
Thompson said in addition to jobs, Quinn will address the
Illinois pension and Medicaid shortfalls during his State of the
State address in the Illinois House Chamber.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT and ANTHONY BRINO]
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