* Here we go again…
In the latest effort to pull businesses from other states, Rick Perry is taking aim at yet another Democratic state – Illinois.
In a modest advertising buy, Perry and the TexasOne, a group sponsored by corporations and chambers of commerce, are running an incendiary message.
The print ad in a Chicago business journal urges Illinois businesses to “get out while there’s still time,” likening their state to a “burning building on the verge of collapse.”
It ad says the state has unintentionally created an “environment designed for you to fail,” and then goes on to list Texas’ business-friendly attributes, including the lack of a state income tax, lower worker compensation taxes and a bigger workforce.
The Illinois Review has helpfully chimed in by posting a chart that purports to show the superiority of Texas to Illinois…
* I asked Gov. Pat Quinn’s office for a response to Gov. Perry. Here it is…
We’ve seen this rodeo before. And if previous, similar efforts by other Republican governors are any indication – these publicity stunts don’t work and they don’t change the fact that businesses are choosing Illinois all the time. In fact, [today], we will announce a global corporation is choosing Illinois for its North American headquarters, in part due to Governor Quinn’s Clean Water Initiative and work to make our state a global hub for water technology.
With our strong transportation network, diverse economy, vibrant manufacturing base and skilled workforce, Illinois is one of the best places to do business in the world. And when all state and local taxes are considered, Illinois has the fifth-lowest effective tax rate in the country, at 4.6%, according to a 2011 study by Ernst & Young LLP.
Under Gov. Quinn’s leadership, the state has become friendlier to employers. He’s done more than any other governor to restore fiscal stability after decades of mismanagement and give businesses the certainty they need to invest. His actions have included reducing the state’s discretionary spending to historic lows and cutting red tape for environmental permits. Gov. Quinn successfully overhauled the worker’s compensation system to save businesses billions of dollars and reduce insurance rates for Illinois companies by nine percent. And he has made international trade and foreign direct investment efforts a priority, taking several trade missions to help Illinois companies access more global markets and recruit international businesses to our state. Not to mention – Illinois is investing in its transportation system like no other state, with $44 billion in capital construction efforts well underway.
There is no doubt that when lawmakers pass pension reform and send a bill to the governor, Illinois’ economy and business climate will be further strengthened. That’s why we continue to focus on the hard but necessary reforms to restore fiscal stability to Illinois.
In addition - Spending taxpayer dollars on ads in hopes of poaching companies from Illinois isn’t an economic development strategy. (As the New York Times pointed out in its December 2012 article on Texas’ incentive practices, despite handing out more business incentives than any other state, Texas has the third-highest proportion of hourly jobs paying at or below minimum wage. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?_r=0 )
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s office has an addendum…
Aside from the fact that there is little to no evidence to show that these publicity stunts produce any results, here are the facts:
Illinois also has a more educated workforce and a more economically stable population.
· Percent of population that graduated high school: Illinois - 86.6%; Texas - 80.4%.
· Percent of population with bachelor’s degree or higher: Illinois -30.7%; Texas-26.1%
· Percent of population living below poverty level: Illinois-13.1%; Texas 17%
- Esquire - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 9:58 am:
Governor Perry:
You have Roger Keats and you are welcome to him.
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:02 am:
Can one add buy make Motorola move? no. Or Allstate? no.
But in reality its state to state competition for the next business or the next plant. You may hate Texas or Texas like social policy or whatever. But denial of growth in states like or acting as if businesses are flocking from Texas to Illinois is silly.
We should attract business. Promote growth. The best thing that can happen for those that want Illinois policies and the Illinois social safety nets is to encourage private growth to pay for it. One company they are going to announce today. big deal. Been to Austin or Dallas or Houston or San Antonio lately? all those big cranes and construction that used to here? its happening down there.
- Cook County Commoner - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:03 am:
The Texicans should include in their list of attributes a state which enjoys executions with little evidence and encourages businesses to use and abuse undocumented immigrants.
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:06 am:
Talking about rustbelt upper midwest cities. Reason.com had a great series on “saving cleveland”. Episode 4 talks about business. Lots of what is said about cleveland is true for Illinois and Chicago. Funny enough about the 7:30 mark they interview someone who setup their plant in Houston… and why he went there vs something like Cleveland. If you are open minded take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9xSesnJlFr0#!
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:08 am:
@cook county
such great info to bring to the debate? any further details you wish to share vs just name calling?
What you just posted has no impact on business decisions and isn’t furthering the debate.
- Emanuel Collective - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:09 am:
If businesses didn’t bite on Scott Walker’s offer to move them next door, why in earth would anyone bite on moving them cross country? The overwhelming majority of Illinois businesses aren’t solely white collar office jobs that can and will simply uproot an entire infrastructure and workforce for tax purposes; the kinds that are aren’t really affected by unionization and worker’s comp.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:11 am:
keep singing Pat…. I won’t have exs livin’ in Texas!
- Emanuel Collective - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:12 am:
To see the rousing success Scott Walker’s much-publicized ad buy & tax rate reduction has had compared to Illinois:
http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/interactive-data-job-growth-under-scott-walker/html_91c1d53c-86a3-11e2-8ee8-0019bb2963f4.html
- HaroldVK - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:15 am:
Whether or not business should move to Texas, we in Illinois need to start taking a serious look at our business environment.
Due to the influence of the plaintiff’s bar, workers’ compensation is far more expensive in Illinois than in most states.
Springfield leadership, from Quinn down, just does not seem to have any great desire to make Illinois friendly to business.
Moreover, voters don’t seem to get that they are voting for people who might get them better benefits if they get hurt, but who will not help them get jobs in the first place.
If they get hurt on the job, they do better than most states. Which is good for those who actually have jobs, but lousy for the rest of the people.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:28 am:
“And when all state and local taxes are considered, Illinois has the fifth-lowest effective tax rate in the country, at 4.6%, according to a 2011 study by Ernst & Young LLP.”
Does anybody have a link to this study?
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:31 am:
@Anonymous
I dont have that link, but simply looking at tax rate % vs regulatory costs, permitting costs, annual business recurring expenses, city employee taxes, zoning, etc. Tells a much larger story.
we should not look on business as “evil” though it is fashionable to do so. we should embrace small business and make it as simple as possible for them to get started and make money.
Illinois coffers would welcome it as would those that want to keep current state programs vs just continuing to cut until we find a bottom.
- JoeVerdeal - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:34 am:
Sometimes, it is wise to acknowledge that our competition’s claims are valid….and that we should make a serious effort to improve.
We are not better than Texas….That’s for sure.
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:38 am:
@joe
It also comes down to perception is reality. Even if you want to nit pick numbers and the Gov talks about some corp headqtrs moving here… Chicago has what? 30 or 31 Fortune 500 co Hdqtrs? Houston alone I think has 50 or 51… not to mention Dallas, San Antonio, etc.
We need to find a way to compete.
- Secret Square - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:40 am:
“If businesses didn’t bite on Scott Walker’s offer to move them next door, why in earth would anyone bite on moving them cross country?”
Maybe because Texas has much shorter and milder winters than Wisconsin?
Seriously, though, I don’t think this is going to prompt very many, if any, existing businesses to move. However, an individual or family that is considering STARTING a business might decide to do it outside of Illinois as a result of differences in tax laws, etc.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:41 am:
===It also comes down to perception is reality===
Perception is reality is perhaps the most dangerous philosophy in a democracy. Perceptions are definitely not reality. Individual or otherwise. It’s also intellectually lazy and dishonest.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:45 am:
“[W]hy in earth would anyone bite on moving them cross country?”
The last time I visited Texas:
1) Gasoline was about ninety cents cheaper per gallon — while some of the savings represented less in transportation costs from the refinery to the station, an awful lot of the high gasoline prices in Illinois are tied to taxes.
2) Temperature wise, the weather is frequently better in Texas.
3) The state government is pro-business and the legislature is not spending the state into insolvency while asking residents to pay higher taxes to cover for their mistakes.
4) The Second Amendment is not reviled in the Lone Star State.
5) Criminals go to jail without apologies from a team of social workers blaming the police.
The biggest obstacle to success in Illinois is frequently its government.
- Darienite - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:48 am:
Just looked at the TexasOne website and here are some of its members:
AT&T, BNSF, Capital One, Center Point Energy, Verizon, Jacobs Technology.
Don’t these ‘members’ also do business in Illinois?
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:53 am:
“Illinois also has a more educated workforce and a more economically stable population.
· Percent of population that graduated high school: Illinois - 86.6%; Texas - 80.4%.
· Percent of population with bachelor’s degree or higher: Illinois -30.7%; Texas-26.1%
· Percent of population living below poverty level: Illinois-13.1%; Texas 17%”
6.7% of Texas population is illegal
4.1% of Illinois population is illegal
This could explain quite a bit about these statistics, especially people living below the poverty level.
Our median income is $4k higher, and so is our cost-of-living.
- Mason born - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 10:59 am:
Let’s add one more Stake in the heart of IL for this article. TX is not looking at billions in unfunded pensions, Billions in unpaid bills, an increasing deficit, and a legislature that appears to be adverse to doing anything on these issues other than raising taxes. Don’t get me wrong i am far from saying TX is perfect. But you seem to have a large constituency here in IL who looks at business as if it were a nice plump sheep and they the wolves. It is hard to put that perspective into numbers.
- soccermom - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:01 am:
San Antonio had 53 nonconsecutive days of 100 or more degrees in the summer of 2011. But that wasn’t a record for San Antonio, which had 59 days of 100-or-more-degree temperatures in 2009.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/weather/article/Texas-summerhottest-everin-U-S-history-2162193.php#ixzz2QduOEiV3
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:07 am:
@soccermom
Yup. but all winter they consider 50 degrees ‘freezing’. I spend about 10 trips a year to SATX. And just bought land north of that in Boerne in the hills. as they say… its a dry heat
- Downstate - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:07 am:
Two stories from just this week…..
A friend is selling his company to an out of state firm. One work comp incident has doubled tripled his work comp costs - taking away all profitability.
Second friend just sold his Chicago firm to a East Coast entity. The seller is immediately moving to Florida with the sale proceeds to start his next entity.
When Illinois gives incentives to simply “retain” companies, it’s a tacit admission that we are “business unfriendly”.
- soccermom - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:21 am:
incidentally, full points to the Governor’s press team with the “rodeo” comment.
The Abdon Pallasch fan club will hold its regularly scheduled meeting next Thursday at 7:30 p.m….
- Biz Guy - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:26 am:
Good answer from Quinn. Midwest states have different challenges so it’s not all comparisons are meaningful. Regardless, Quinn has hit the pavement and worked like nuts to bring business to Illinois. It’s appreciated.
- chuddery - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:27 am:
==Chicago has what? 30 or 31 Fortune 500 co Hdqtrs? Houston alone I think has 50 or 51… not to mention Dallas, San Antonio, etc.==
RonOglesby,
This may get in the way of demonizing IL at all costs but let’s try to at least get our information correct. Texas as a WHOLE has 52 Fortune 500 companies (a huge number being energy companies which could be based around the natural resources that are in Texas.) IL has 32. That’s pretty good for a state that about half the population.
I don’t think anyone believes IL is perfect, but this need to blast IL all the time gets a bit old.
- Mongo - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:28 am:
RonO, business isn’t attacked here. Perhaps businesses that extort tax breaks and then move are characterized in unflattering terms. Look, a lot of energy goes into starting a business, maintaining a business, sweating payroll, growing for new markets and customers, and so forth. It is hard work.
Access to transportation is critical. From ORD and MDW I can get to clients anywhere in the US. And frankly, regulatory costs are just a part of doing business. And for some businesses, they exist because of regulations that others don’t understand.
Finally, don’t talk about Texas like it is all San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas. Let’s not forget Longview, Amarillo and Lubbock, and the gem of the west, El Paso.
These silly Republican stunts to tell stories and steal companies are shameful.
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:29 am:
Biz guy
can you point to where our business policy has been a success in net bus growth when compared to other states?
Just like in business… saying your revenue jumped means nothing if you were at a net loss in the first place and still show a loss qtr over qtr. Or If you compare your revenue or profit to a business that is not in your sector (i am software, comparing my revenue and profit to a manufacturer of windows make no sense)
How are we staking up to other states when it comes to tax growth from businesses, increased employment, tax growth from all that net positive migration to our state?
- chuddery - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:30 am:
Downstate,
If giving out incentives is an admission that you’re unfriendly to business, why are we worried about Texas?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:32 am:
There is absolutely no doubt that Illinois is not business friendly. Just no doubt. It’s friendly to some businesses, but overall it’s not. That absolutely has to be addressed here. It’s a matter of survival.
But racing to the bottom as far as our people are concerned ain’t the way to go.
- RonOglesby - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:33 am:
Chuddery
So what is your solution? Boeing is here right? so what? where are their manufacturing jobs? when they decided to build that new plant where did they build it? not here.
That is what I am talking about. we need to ask WHY texas is doing better than us and WHY business build new places other than Illinois.
You call it Illinois BASHING… oooo.. ok. then tell me why we arent getting the Boeing plant? why we arent seeing the growth compared to these other states.
We need solutions. Stalling and saying its illinois bashing is not us looking in the mirror and figuring out what is wrong.
Incentives to keep big business here (as stated above) shows that were are struggling just to keep them, while other states are out recruiting and growing the number of businesses.
- Chris - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:43 am:
Ron: “Houston alone I think has 50 or 51 [Fortune 500 HQs]… not to mention Dallas, San Antonio, etc.”
Nope:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/states/TX.html
Metro Houston has 25, Texas as a whole has 52. (San Antonio has 5; Dallas metro has 19; the other 3 are 2 in Austin and one in Corpus)
Illinois has 32; metro Chicago has 28 of those (all but ADM, Cat, Deere and State Farm).
Only NY, CA and Texas has more than 28 HQs statewide (Ohio has 28), and only the NYC (48, counting *only* those in New York state; many more in NYC-oriented burbs of NJ (18) and CT(9); so really 75) and SF (30) metro areas top metro Chicago (tho Houston *is* closing fast).
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:50 am:
I’m not sure the data in the chart are entirely helpful to Texas’ argument. For example, given its lower unemployment rate, there are fewer available employees. Of the fewer available employees, they are less educated than Illinois workers. Finally, you’ll be paying more for electricity in Texas, which is bad for most manufacturers. Gasoline may be cheaper, but you’re going to be driving a lot more than in Illinois and you’ll be shipping much further from national transit hubs.
They’ve got us on worker’s comp though and nonunion employees though, so there’s that.
- Greg - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 11:56 am:
Texas is nice, it’s diverse. You have Dallas and Austin if you like lots of services. Fort Worth and Houston if you don’t. The business climate is better in Texas, no doubt and Rich is right about Illinois.
Culturally there is a big difference in that risk taking is more acceptable here than in Illinois. Illinois frowns on risk. Even CA’s notoriously bad biz climate is less risk averse than Illinois. That makes Illinois’ poor biz climate worse than it actually is. The two together are stifling.
As far as racing to the bottom goes, I’m at a loss to identify states materially less off a generation after adopting policies most generally to be believed as “racing to the bottom.” Racing to the bottom is an argument for the status quo.
- moving - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 12:27 pm:
as a small business owner i find our state increasingly hostile to growth of business. as soon as my children are out of school (2 years) we’re going south. the comment about Illinois trouble being mostly with its leaders is completely on point and true.
- Wordslinger - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:16 pm:
The two biggest industries in Texas, by far, are oil and gas and defense(contractors and bases). I don’t think state government has much to do with either of them.
The actions of any state government on the economy are marginal, bat best.
North Dakota has always had low taxes. They’re booming now because they struck oil.,
- Downstate - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:20 pm:
Word,
Illinois has the same opportunities as ND and TX regarding energy. The state only needs to get out of the way and Southern Illinois will be rocking.
There is a reason the US has developed their oil and gas fields so efficiently. It was, for the most part, private mineral owners dealing with oil companies. The government had little or no involvement.
This is the primary reason most of Europe is stalled. The government owns most of the mineral rights and they are only plodding along, if at all.
For every incremental increase in government involvement, you’ll see decades of delay.
- chuddery - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:39 pm:
Ron,
I haven’t seen any real solutions from you other than bumper sticker slogans. “It also comes down to perception is reality” and “We should attract business. Promote growth.” are not policy ideas, which made it seem like you are just bashing IL and praising Texas.
I can’t speak to IL’s regulatory issues, but it seems like the best thing IL could do is to achieve some sort of workable pension reform. It would also be helpful if we could get some seniority in Congress so we could get all that federal money that flows into Texas.
- Judgment Day (Road Trip) - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:43 pm:
I’m trying not to bash, but I always remember that “One rarely learns anything new from their successes, we learn from our failures”.
In that spirit, since IL is big [actually, giant] on AG, why aren’t the big/medium size agricultural businesses expanding/growing here in IL? What are we doing wrong? What are we missing?
Same thing with railroads/rail transport?
We’ve got a lead in the latest trend in retail/distribution [simply due to geography]. It’s purchase via internet, and pick up/deliver to neighborhood stores - literally next day delivery.
Take advantage of this trend and tell retailers they get a fifty percent break [for at least several years] on sales taxes charged/collected on all internet sales where the internet purchased goods are in-store pickups.
What we lose in sales tax, we pick up in having more brick-and-mortar businesses. And in the long run, that’s a better deal for us.
Why aren’t we playing to our strengths?
But that’s likely a concept far beyond our ‘accidental governor’ to be able to understand.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:50 pm:
===This is the primary reason most of Europe is stalled. The government owns most of the mineral rights and they are only plodding along, if at all.===
Alaska owns its mineral rights.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 1:51 pm:
Also, all those states you’ve mentioned have higher extraction taxes than what are being proposed here.
- Downstate - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 2:08 pm:
Rich,
I’ll concede your point on extraction taxes. From my friends in “the field”, the frustration lies in the fact that Springfield is dithering on exactly what they will charge and how they will regulate the industry. Lots of unknowns.
My sense is that there will be little movement until that is settled. ie. No one will start any substantive exploration or drilling until the costs of recovery (taxes, fees, etc.) are known.
This is a big opportunity for jobs and recovery for Southern Illinois - but that doesn’t seem to be a priority for Springfield.
Not to be too wordy, but none of this is new. Fracking, horizontal drilling - it’s all been done for decades here in Illinois. But the state legislature, by suddenly deciding to rewrite the rules, is putting a wet blanket on what’s been going on for years here already.
- Endangered Moderate Species - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 2:09 pm:
All cost variables must be considered when business are choosing to locate or re-locate. Politicians are doing a disservice when they paint economic development with a broad stroke.
Elected officials must also consider all variables, with regards to what types of businesses they are looking to attract and what type of community they want to grow.
Juarez, Mexico has been effective in landing many U.S. companies in the past 30 years. Is Juarez a better city today than it was 30 years ago?
San Jose has been effective transitioning from an industrial base economy to a tech based economy. San Jose is also located within a State that is not considered to be business friendly.
Some companies are highly mobile and have the ability to move quickly to the lowest bidder with the best incentives. But for many companies, the location of customers, the location of suppliers and the availability of qualified workers are the variables that drive most location decisions.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 2:10 pm:
=== From my friends in “the field”, the frustration lies in the fact that Springfield is dithering on exactly what they will charge and how they will regulate the industry. ===
Not true. That’s all done. The one holdup now is over an amendment pushed by the Operating Engineers.
- Just Me - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 2:50 pm:
What I couldn’t help but notice is that Quinn’s office didn’t say that anything in Texas’ ad was incorrect.
- Michelle Flaherty - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 3:06 pm:
But wait … doesn’t Texas have a Rod-Blagojevich style Gross Receipts Tax? I thought those were bad for business.
http://taxfoundation.org/blog/texas-implements-gross-receipts-tax
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 4:05 pm:
–It was, for the most part, private mineral owners dealing with oil companies. The government had little or no involvement.–
No, not a bit true.
The oil and gas industries are heavily regulated by the states.
The Texas Railroad Commission, an elected body, decides who can drill where and how much they can take out of the ground on a monthly basis. Similar bodies do the same in other big oil states like OK, LA, CA and AK.
They are the models for OPEC.
Back in the 30s, the governor of Texas sent in the militia to shut down production in the East Field when drillers were exceeding their allocation and driving down the price of oil.
- anon - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 5:25 pm:
The game of numbers!
They are pulling stats from the US Census which at best are from 2011 published reports and in some cases earlier.
Illinois is only now beginning to feel the full brunt of the 2011 sixty-six percent State Income Tax increases.
Up until Jan 2014 the Illinois State Income Tax increase was subsidized via the Fed’s temporary FICA payroll tax break which has expired.
Nice diversion try tho.
- anon - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 6:21 pm:
“Percent of population living below poverty level: Illinois-13.1%; Texas 17%”
Yes based upon 2011 census.
Now take a look at the last Illinois Food Stamp Casload report. Caseloads up 11.5% versus last year alone. Texas -1.7% http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/29SNAPcurrPP.htm
And if your Food Stamp caseloads are up 11.5% as of the Jan 2013 data, the latest availble, golly gee we wonder how that fact impacts median income and all the other 2011 numbers?
- anon - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 6:48 pm:
wrt: Illinois having a higher percentage of University degree holders.
Oh yeah, with over half the student loans going bad and into default Illinois has a huge indentured servant workforce to choose from — provided that corporations are willing to over look the debt risk of their employees.
Therefore is the education stat really a plus? I think the defaul debt risk is greater then the education reward
More Than Half Of Student Loans Are Now In Deferral Or Delinquent …
www.forbes.com/…/2013/…/alarming-number-of-student-loans-are-…
According to a TransUnion study, more than half of student loans are in deferred … 2/01/2013 @ 10:36AM |7,558 views … Earlier this week, a FICO study revealed that student loan debt has increased dramatically and the default rates on these
- Just The Way It Is One - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 7:33 pm:
Gee-how thoughtful of the “ILLINOIS” Review to back Texas! UNbelievable! And I actually surnmised Govs. Quinn and Perry had a mutually respectful relationship, having flown Overseas together to visit the Troops in it was either Iraq or Afghanistan a couple years ago! Think again, I guess, but sheez–pretty raunchy of Perry and his “Folks,” even if some consider him a decent GOPer…shows a lack of decor, the same bunk Christie tried pulling a couple years back and fell on his (Over-sized) face with! It’s like stealing–it’s like saying–I can’t do well enough stirring up Business in my OWN State where I’m reSPONsible and exPECTed to, so with blatant cowardice I’ll just try to steal it from somebody else’s Home State! Pathetic, weak really…
I will say, though, a solid Comeback by Pat Quinn and his Staff on out-statting the “Good ‘Ol Boys” with at least SOME of the #s in our Prairie State’s favor…!
- Just The Way It Is One - Tuesday, Apr 16, 13 @ 7:34 pm:
…in previous post, that was supposed to read “surmised”…
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 17, 13 @ 12:44 am:
=shows a lack of decor,=
Wow. I’ll bet they’re probably repainting right now.
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