Quigley Endorses Pat Quinn In Illinois Governor's Race

Yesterday Illinois State Congressman Mike Quigley threw his support behind Pat Quinn for a full term as governor in 2010. At a press conference Monday morning, Quigley said “Our state has been paying the cost of corruption for too long; now more than ever, we can't afford it.” With the state still reeling from the omnipresent punchline that is former Governor Rod Blagojevich, Quigley joked that “Hunting for corruption in Illinois is like hunting for cows. They come up to you and moo. It's hard to govern when people are laughing about this government instead of functioning.”

Quigley also talked up Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now capital improvement program. The $31 billion program will supposedly create almost half a million new jobs in Illinois and overhaul our roads and bridges. Potential Republican rival Kirk Dillard criticized Quinn over the weekend saying that Quinn's office stalled on issuing $3 billion in construction bonds and wasted a summer construction season.

Elsewhere in the Governor's race, state Representative Jack Franks said he wouldn't plan on entering the election but wasn't ready to endorse either Quinn or rival Dan Hynes. In an interview with WBEZ, Franks said he plans on running for reelection in the Illinois House next year and didn't seem to think that either Quinn or Hynes could shake up Illinois government enough.