Quinn to Lynn: I'm In!

By Kevin Robinson in News on Feb 25, 2009 6:00PM

In an interview with the Sun-Times's Lynn Sweet on Tuesday, Governor Pat Quinn affirmed that he'll run for re-election in 2010. "I have no reason not to run," Quinn said. "I think I am doing a good job today. I anticipate I will continue to do that. Stabilizing the ship of Illinois is vitally necessary. I think even in the first three-and-a-half weeks we've done a decent job of turning a page in an unhappy chapter in the state's history," he told her.

Quinn also outlined his agenda for the state to Sweet, including:

• Travel around Illinois, visiting different cities and suburbs each week.
• Install more government accountability measures. At the root of the Illinois culture of corruption is jobs and contracts, traded for campaign contributions. Quinn faces a mighty task shutting it down. Quinn said he may add more internal auditors "whose job it is to monitor everything for honesty and taxpayer accountability."
• Have more social events at the Executive Mansion with state House and Senate leaders and constitutional officers and their spouses to build relationships.
• Install Obama-style "electronic democracy" government Web sites with social networking tools in order to "have a dialogue with the public."
• Take on volunteerism as a cause, with programs run through the governor's office.
• Consider creating a separate department to regulate the insurance industry.
• Fill what Quinn called the "ocean" of vacancies to state boards and commissions. Quinn said he has two people on his staff vetting potential appointees.
• Ask Pat Ryan, the chairman and CEO of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid, to incorporate more of Illinois in Olympic planning.

But don't worry, Quinn has no plans to start campaigning anytime soon. "Given the cataclysmic events, I don't think the people of Illinois want their governor devoting the lion's share of his time to political campaigning and planning for the political future. I think in this case the best politics are doing this job, this rescue mission properly with a complete focus on what's best for the common good," he told Sweet.