You know, it’s interesting that we’re together today, just a week into a new decade of the new century. Of course, as a candidate for Governor, and with the election just a month away, a platform like this is always a good thing. But in putting this speech together, I couldn’t help but hear the background noise of countless end-of-decade retrospectives. So, I’ve embraced it. Because sometimes it’s by looking back that we become certain of what we must do, and where we must go, together.

As a nation, we remember 10 years that started with promise and prosperity – but gave us immense human tragedy, loss reflected in these few words: September 11th and Katrina, Afghanistan and Iraq.

There was hope, too – not the least of which was Chicago’s own Barack Obama. No matter how history judges the President’s performance – and I expect that he will be among the greats – America will forever be changed for the better through the energy, activism and engagement that propelled Barack to office.

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As proud and excited as the rise of Barack Obama made us, it quickly gave way to the embarrassment and shame of Rod Blagojevich. A man who promised to be a reformer — and wound up a defendant. Who wanted to be President — and who will now compete with Donald Trump in a “hairdown.”

And in the year since he left, the state of our state has not improved.

In fact, judged by the standards and metrics that matter most – those things that reflect our shared values and priorities, our pride in community – indeed, those things that matter most for the future of Illinois – it has only gotten worse. More clouds, it seems, have rolled in.

Our budget deficit is a staggering $13 billion and growing. Our credit rating has been downgraded again and again. The state has a $5 billion backlog of bills we cannot pay. Our unemployment rate is nearly 11%. And a staggering 140,000 of our fellow Illinoisans – 140,000 of our friends and our neighbors – have lost their jobs during this last year alone.

That’s the past year, for the people of Illinois.
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On too many of the issues that matter for the future of Illinois, our leaders are failing us. Hard decisions are put off until after the next election, and then the one after that.
And perhaps worst of all, an opportunity to unite our state, to do meaningful things and take advantage of history, is squandered.

We have heard it time and time again now from Governor Quinn. He assumed office in a crisis, the toughest time in the long history of Illinois, he says.

You see, that’s a fundamental difference between Pat and me. While I do not begrudge him the circumstances under which he assumed office, I do not accept that those circumstances prevented him from doing what’s right for the people of Illinois. In fact, I believe the circumstances presented a unique opportunity, and now one that is lost.

Think about it. After Rod’s departure, never before have the people and institutions of Illinois wanted so much for one man to succeed. The right leader might have taken advantage of the situation to get things done – to be the leader who could shepherd through the hard choices that have too long been ignored.

The people of Illinois were rooting for Pat Quinn. And Pat Quinn struck out.

This isn’t a critique of Governor Quinn as a person. It’s an indictment of his leadership, and it is based in fact.

When you have the opportunity to lead – when leadership is what is needed most —
You don’t make your signature priority a 50 percent tax increase on the middle class, particularly in a recession.

You don’t change your position two, three, or even four times on that same tax hike, in the process sowing doubts about your sincerity.

You don’t tell the people of Illinois that nothing matters more than a jobs bill, so you would never play politics with it – and then hold up its passage for a month to try and pressure lawmakers into supporting your tax hike, losing a construction season in the process.

You don’t call a watered-down ethics bill a “landmark,” and then turn around and veto it.

You don’t continue to rely on a government full of Blagojevich appointees, including a budget team that makes AIG look savvy.

You don’t try to negotiate in public a plan to borrow half a billion dollars, and then deceive us about the details to try and browbeat a political opponent.

You don’t brazenly put off addressing the budget crisis until after an election, when it costs us money every single day.
And you certainly don’t, at the very same time, secretly release 1,700 dangerous criminals at any cost; then offer vague, contradictory explanations for what you knew and when you knew it; and then stonewall the people you serve.

All the while, the people of Illinois have lost jobs, seen their children’s futures further mortgaged, and watched their streets become less safe.

Now ask yourself if you deserve another year – or 4 more years — like that.

To those who will somehow say that raising these issues is negative – or a naysayer? I say it’s just the opposite. Because this is the reality that we’re living, and what I believe is that we can do better. In fact, what’s negative is to condemn this conversation as somehow inappropriate — because that says that we – you and I — should be happy with what we’ve got and ask for nothing more.

That’s what it says to all of us who care about Illinois. Who are concerned about what will be left for our kids. And who believe that we do deserve better, and that better needs to start – right now.

I think that all we’re looking for are good ideas – and leadership that reflects our own common sense and responsibility. Because that’s how we’re going to mend the wounds of the past few years, solve the problems of this decade, and respond to the challenges of our times.

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But to make any of these things reality – to bring sanity and fairness to our budget, to restore jobs and grow our economy, and yes, even to ensure that our government is ethical and working for us, the people it serves – we need new leadership

Not new leadership as merely a synonym for “not Pat Quinn,” or as another way to say “vote for me,” but a different outlook, and a clear vision. The leadership we need going forward isn’t going to come from a vision stuck in the past, or one borne from a sense of entitlement. It will not be bestowed to anyone as a lifetime achievement award, nor will it flow from someone who was at the right place at the right time, or the wrong time.

You see, at the end of the day, this campaign is not about Pat Quinn. And it’s not about me. It’s certainly not about Rod Blagojevich, despite what our friends on the other side of the aisle would lead you to believe.

What I know – and this is something I couldn’t fully appreciate a decade ago – is that it’s all about my three boys and your sons and your daughters. It’s about the future. And nothing makes the future more real than seeing the light in your children’s eyes.

When my boys were just babies, and I’d be up late at night taking care of them, my mind would wander, and I’d try to picture them in the days to come. Taking their first steps. Walking across a stage to get their diplomas. Walking down the aisle. Walking their own kids to school.

I see these things now, too.

In this, I share the same dreams as any parent in Illinois.

It is this simple thing, a family’s growth, the decades to come, an eye to the future, all of our hopes and dreams. It is this — that the election is about.

I know I may not always be the most charismatic campaigner, or the most dynamic personality. But you know who I am, and you know where I’ll stand. And I am fixed firmly on what this state can be, and why it matters. And ultimately, that’s what is demanded now. Now is the time — that we cannot afford to waste.

This is our moment, and I am ready.