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Don’t blow it, governor

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Illinois

* Having a new governor is a big relief to many Illinoisans…

What a difference a few months - and an impeachment - can make.

When Gov. Pat Quinn walked into a Rolling Meadows ballroom Saturday night for a fundraiser benefiting military troops, veterans and their families, he was greeted by loud applause, ecstatic cheers and even a few Marine Corps oorahs.

The accolades continued when he was honored at the fourth annual Hearts of Valor Ball for his ongoing efforts to help the state’s military personnel.

* His heart appears to be in the right place…

Gov. Pat Quinn told members of a Humboldt Park church Sunday that service to others is “the rent we pay for our place on God’s earth.”

* He’s hitting a lot of the right notes…

Gov. Pat Quinn is wasting no time fulfilling his pledge to make the Illinois Governor’s Mansion both a working facility and a showplace, in a departure for Rod Blagojevich’s dislike of all things Springfield, including actually living there or just spending time at the executive residence.

“After six years with an absent resident, it’s once again ‘the people’s house,’ as its new occupant calls it,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.

* But he needs to start laying the groundwork for what everyone believes will be a tax hike proposal in his budget address…

My man-on-the-street poll of Southland residents assured me I am, indeed, a mutant species. Not even your basic long-haired hippy libbies will tolerate another tax hike if elected officials entertain one this spring.

“The crap never ends,” one poll respondent told me. “No one will be happy until we’re all living on the streets. The country’s on a fast track to a depression; then Cook County raises property taxes on our homes that are depreciating by the minute, and now our geniuses in Springfield want to raise the income tax. So in answer to your questions, no, I would not support an income tax hike, and I would vote anyone out of office I could for supporting it.”

“(A tax hike) is too easy of a fix for a government proven to squander resources through mismanagement and gross negligence,” another said.
“Taxes in Chicago/Cook County are already ridiculously (bleeping) high without this additional income tax,” one friend said. “Even though I disagree with many of the party’s social and ethical points, I’ll be voting Republican for every major office in Illinois for the next 25 years.”

* This message is getting lost in the background noise…

“We’ll have more cost cutting to come — don’t worry about that,” [Quinn] said. But he declined to specify what cuts he would make.

* Instead, reporters and lots of residents want to know which taxes he will raise…

Quinn repeatedly declined to answer questions during a Thursday news conference on whether he will support a tax increase, saying he will discuss the matter during his Wednesday, March 18, budget address.

Yes, I know we need to be patient and wait for the budget address, but he probably ought to spend the next couple of weeks announcing budget cuts and reforms and avoid stepping on his own message. If he screws up this rollout, his plans may explode in his face.

* Related…

* Rod’s dash for cash : Even with a four-year federal investigation bearing down on him, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s fund-raising operation was in full swing in the months before his arrest late last year on corruption charges.

* Report: Illinois’ financial outlook worsening

* Quinn predicts tollway announcement soon

* States’ Budget Woes Will Outlast The Recession

* States of panic

* State tax hike on table

* Pay up: Taxing senior income and the service sector

* Meet the accidental gov

* Reopening of state parks provides a breath of fresh air

* Wildlife Prairie opens despite budget cuts

* Open Season at Wildlife Prairie

* State DNR spokesman gives many reasons to take a walk in the park

* Can Illinois adjust to having a clean governor?

* Posting salaries of state workers on Web meets resistance

* Get involved with state government reform

* What’s happening with the commissions

* Illinois ethics reform not a done deal

* Illinois ethics reform not a done deal

* Campaign to reform Capitol continues

* Illinois ethics reform faces many challenges

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 11:05 am

Comments

–…but he probably ought to spend the next couple of weeks announcing budget cuts and reforms and avoid stepping on his own message.–

I suspect (hope) that’s the plan. He should adopt the Message of the Day pioneered in the Reagan Administration to announce cuts large and small, every day (actually, the small cuts — planes, travel, etc. — seem to resonate with voters most, simply because no one really gets gored.

After that, the heavy lifting starts.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 11:17 am
Quinn has the image to start the “Illinois Democratic Party Sacred Cows Butchers Shop, and Grill”, and live on.

Voters know that Illinois Democrats have taken wages out of their wallets that voters have not yet even earned, and are tired of this asinine way of operating government. Voters will not bail out a government like this.

Quinn has to start sacrificing the sacred cows his party has been feeding with our wages over the past decade. Until he does so, voters are not willing to see even more of their money taken from them.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 11:19 am
From Sneed: Personal life: Quinn, 60, who is divorced, isn’t the first bachelor to occupy the mansion. Gov. Henry Horner was. Quinn is a devoted father of two sons, Patrick, 25, and David, 24 — and is guarded about his private life. Still, Quinn is rarely seen alone at social functions.

For someone who has been in public life for years, is addicted to press conferences and now is Governor — he wants to be guarded about his personal life? Get real Quinn - if you are running for Guv, get ready for all the details of your personal life to become public. Is he really that naive?

Comment by a bit of a squirrel Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 11:28 am
that’s booyah, not oorah. maggot.

Comment by anon24 Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 11:38 am
You are always going to hear from anti-tax cranks that want services to continue while revenue to support them continues to dwindle, and tax cuts. They are living in a dream world.

One reason I felt Quinn should not run for 2010 is that if you’re running, you can be cowed by these taxophobes into avoiding an unpopular responsibility. Quinn has to be like the earlier Illinois governor, Ogelvie (A republican, BTW) who knew we needed an income tax and got it passed, knowing it was going to probably end his own political career but that it would serve the state’s proper growth.

I think personally Pat could survive it in this day and age, he’s proven he’s a survivor. Secretly every pol in the capitol wants him to bear this cross for them. For the good of the state, it has to be done, so let’s stop pretending and sit down to the table and work out the best deal possible for everyone.

Comment by Gregor Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 12:23 pm
The question mark on Quinn is whether he will actually manage state government or let the entrenched and ravenous bureaucracy continue to waste taxpayer resources. A good indicator will be whether he closes the Pontiac Prison—which would be a politically motivated waste of time, or instead chooses to close Statesville which is operationally inefficient and costing taxpayers over $ 12 million a year in overtime and $90 million in future infrastructure repairs.

Comment by Louis Howe Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 1:05 pm
Just want to correct a part of the article Cook County has not raised property taxes in 12 years I believe. The property taxes are being raised by the Mayors and Village presidents and the other taxing bodies..Not by Stroger as everyone thinks.

Comment by blackdem Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 1:16 pm
That this post concerns the issues most critical to the state’s near-term future, and it only has 8 responses so far, seems to put Burris and asteroids in perspective, too.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 4:00 pm
Six, people care, but it’s tough to get your mind around this problem.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 2, 09 @ 4:00 pm