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 Quinn outlined an ambitious to-do list: A new multibillion-dollar
building program for the state, new "economic blueprint," a
birth-to-5-years-old early childhood initiative and, of course, a
higher minimum wage.
"I said it last year, and I'll say it again. It's time to raise
Illinois' minimum wage to at least $10 an hour," Quinn said.
But the governor did not say how he will pay for any of his wish
list.
Quinn didn't even use code words.
And he certainly did not say the words tax, tax increase, revenue,
pension lawsuits or hole in the new state budget.
State Sen. Kirk Dillard, one of four Republicans looking to replace
Quinn as the state's chief executive, said the missing pieces of the
speech tell Illinois' real story.
"He didn't tell us that Illinois is second in the nation in
out-migration of people," Dillard told reporters after the speech.
"Or that many surveys rate us the third-worse run state in America."
Others had the same feeling about the speech.
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said Quinn is going to have
to say how he intends to pay for existing projects, must less any
new initiatives.
"If (the 2011 temporary income tax increase) does not hold, that's
like a $5 billion hit on the budget," Topinka said. "There really has to be some
attention paid to the finances of the state."
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Bill Brady, state senator and GOP candidate for governor, said Quinn
didn't say anything new or useful during his 35-minute address.
"Pat Quinn is a guy who goes through the motions," Brady said. "He
doesn't seem to get anything done. But he does go through the motions, I'll give
him that."
But perhaps the clearest sign that Quinn's pie-in-the-sky speech
failed to garner support came from his own party's budget architect,
state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion.
"We've got a really difficult fiscal situation coming up and he's
talking about getting rid of money that's coming in," Bradley said
as he dismissed the governor's speech. "It's a great thing to say in
a speech, but it's political rhetoric."
Quinn is scheduled to deliver his budget address Feb. 19, about one
month before voters go to the polls for the March primary.
___
Contact Benjamin Yount at
Ben@IllinoisWatchdog.org and find him
on Twitter:
@BenYount.
[This
article courtesy of
Illinois Watchdog.]
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