Quinn heralded his reduced state budget today at the Thompson Center, where he announced budget cuts focused on education as well as healthcare and social services. The budget also includes heavy borrowing to make pension payments and cover roughly $6 billion in various unpaid bills.
Illinois education and social services historically represent the largest non-pension expenses. Those areas now face reductions of about $241 million and $497 million, respectively. Read more...
"Pat Quinn needs to stand up for jobs instead of standing in the way of reform for McCormick Place," says Brady.
The South Side convention center has been losing big convention clients at a rapid clip this year. A bill calling for widespread changes in the way the facility is managed awaits Quinn's signature. Read more...
Michael Demetrio says that when his wife ran for office, there was one place, and only one place, she turned for money: their own bank.
“We have a fairly firm philosophy,” Demetrio says. “We do not take funds from anyplace else besides us.”
The Chicago attorney pitched in about $125,000 for his wife’s judicial campaign last year. Mary Katherine Rochford won one of three vacancies in the 1st District of the Illinois Appellate Court — taking the concept of judicial independence to a financial extreme. Read more...
Update | 12:23 p.m. Gov. Pat Quinn's campaign has responded to Scott Lee Cohen's announcement in an e-mail to the Current. Campaign spokeswoman Mica Matsoff:
Scott Lee Cohen withdrew his candidacy for lieutenant governor in February amid allegations of steroid use, domestic battery, and failure to pay child support. Today, he painted his entry into the governor’s race as a principled decision to spur economic growth in Illinois. Governor Quinn believes anything that focuses more attention on job creation is a good thing.
But while both Scott Lee Cohen and Bill Brady have talked a lot about creating jobs, neither has a proven track record of accomplishments in this area. By contrast, Governor Quinn has lead the fight to implement a range of measures to boost hiring—from a capital bill that would create 439,000 jobs over the next six years to a tax credit for small businesses. By working with business leaders, he has taken concrete steps to get residents back to work and secure a more prosperous future for Illinois. And unlike Cohen and Brady, Governor Quinn understands that promoting women’s rights and equal pay for equal work are crucial to the well-being of Illinois working families. Read more...
Update: Bill Brady campaign spokesman John Hoffman says "the Brady businesses have no financial interest connected with Wal-Mart."
Original post: Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady this morning called on Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to support a proposed Wal-Mart in the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, calling the area a "food desert" that desperately needs new jobs.
"Whose side is the governor on?" Brady asked in a statement. "Instead of trying to raise our taxes, he should be standing up for raised opportunity. ... One of the most effective anti-violence programs is jobs." Read more...
