Quinn's State Of The State Speech Doubles As His Campaign Platform
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 29, 2014 9:30PM
Governor Pat Quinn wasn’t about to let Tuesday’s lawsuit challenging the recently passed pension reform law filed by public sector employees damper his call to arms in his State of the State address in Springfield Wednesday.
The foundation of Quinn’s address involved raising the minimum wage, spending more money on early childhood education and other ways to create jobs in Illinois while touting his accomplishments in the five years since he became governor in the wake of Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment and removal from office.
Quinn mirrored President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday to list all the reasons that Illinois, like America, is making a comeback.
Since the recovery began in 2010, #IL has added 280,000 private sector jobs. Unemployment is at its lowest point in almost 5 years #ILSOTS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 20145 years ago #IL did not guarantee equal rights to all couples. Today, we embrace full #marriageequality. It’s the #lawoftheland. #ILSOTS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 2014We passed the largest construction program in #IL history & built/repaired 7k+ miles of road, 1k+ bridges & 978 schools. #ILSOTS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 2014Our comprehensive #pensionreform “may be the largest reform package implemented" by any state in the nation, @MoodysRatings said. #ILSOTS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 2014We invested $45M in #ECE centers & #IL leads the nation in the # of 3YO attending preschool. But the status quo is not enough. #ILSTOS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 2014Over the last five years, we’ve rebuilt one hard step at a time. And we’ve been getting the job done. #ILSOTS
— Governor Pat Quinn (@GovernorQuinn) January 29, 2014Expect Quinn to hammer and shake these and other selected resume bullet points home once the gubernatorial primaries are over and his GOP challenger is determined. (And if that nominee winds up being astroturfing venture capitalist Bruce Rauner, expect Quinn to hammer Rauner—pun totally intended—with Rauner's flip-flopping positions on the minimum wage.)
Quinn's speech lacked details regarding how he would fund his initiatives. He also deftly evaded the question on whether he would let the temporary increase in the state income tax expire next January. Quinn will tackle that subject at his budget address Feb. 19.
Business groups framed Quinn's call for a minimum wage hike as a possible threat to Illinois' economic recovery. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce said in a statement:
(T)he status-quo remains entirely unacceptable and Illinois must enact more policies that will help employers create jobs. That is why the Governor's call for increasing the minimum wage and mandated paid time off for workers is so frustrating to potential job creators. The Governor and many legislators want to embrace the rhetoric of helping small business with a "renewed focus" but then turn around - in the very same speech - and call for policies that will certainly kill small business jobs. Just the threat of these policies is enough to make many small businesses put a halt to plans for hiring or capital investment. Enacting these policies will put people out of work and close access to job opportunities for teenagers and our lowest skilled workers.
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association called Quinn's proposal a "job-killing minimum wage increase:"
"Raising the minimum wage in Illinois would be wholly irresponsible and would force retailers to make cuts which will keep many people, especially those in the 16-24 age range, out of work," said Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. "The minimum wage is a floor not a ceiling. It is a starting point where employees can acquire the necessary skills to advance and ultimately earn higher wages."