Question for Governor Pat Quinn: How Do You Create Jobs?

Answer: "It is easy."

The problem?  Those 'dollar, dollar bills' are yours - the taxpayer's.

#IsItACrime?

Breaking: Footage Of Amazon.com Negotiations With State Of Illinois

We were just shared this breaking footage of the folks over at Amazon.com from late last week after Governor Pat Quinn brazenly shelled out taxpayer cash to make it look like he's generating jobs.

Can you blame Amazon?  Someone 'makes it rain' like Illinois Governor Pat Quinn does ahead of his re-election effort, don't you dance, too?

Exclusive Footage Of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's "Job Creation Program"

Who would have thunk?  If it worked for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to spread around some cash - YOUR CASH - to buy some votes in 2010, why wouldn't he try it again this time?

Shame on him.  But...if we vote to put this guy back in office next Tuesday, the shame will be on us.

“Pat Quinn is already under federal investigation for misusing millions in October of 2010, and now it looks like he’s pumped out half a billion dollars this month to boost his campaign once again. He’s throwing around taxpayer money in October in the hopes of raising your taxes in November. Throwing around more money in the last six days won’t change the harm Pat Quinn has caused Illinois over the last six years.”

Pat Quinn Said He "Intended To Be The Jobs Governor". SRSLY?!?

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn talked the talk when it came to jobs:  he said he "intended to be the 'jobs Governor'".

But...Pat Quinn didn't walk the walk when it came to jobs in Illinois:  Illinois lead the Midwest in jobs losses according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Oh...he *must* have been talking about "jobs" for his cronies and stooges over at IDOT, right?  That must be it.

Pat Quinn failed his job here in Illinois.  It is time for us voters to say that we've had enough.  Give him an early retirement and not four more years.

Illinois Tops For Midwest States In Food Stamps/Jobs Ratio

<sarcasm> More Great News for us here in Illinois. </sarcasm>

Via the IPI: 

Since the Great Recession ended, Illinois’ food-stamp enrollment has outpaced job creation by a ratio of nearly 2-to-1. 

The jobs versus food stamps comparison is a strong indicator of economic hardship. And compared to the rest of the Midwest, Illinoisans are truly feeling the pain. 

Since the Great Recession ended, Illinois is the only state in the Midwest to have more people end up on food stamps than in a job. Every other state in the Midwest has had more job creation than food-stamp enrollment. In fact, North Dakota, Missouri and Michigan have actually seen their food-stamp enrollment decline since January 2010, while also adding a healthy number of new payroll jobs.

Where We Urge Rep Linda Chapa-LaVia to Save Her Energy On IDOT Jobs...

Over on Twitter, State Representative Linda Chapa-LaVia is doing a nice thing for her constituents:  sharing a job posting at IDOT.

That's exactly the type of secondary role that State Reps can play:  help make connections/surface opportunities for constituents in their district.  Good for her.

But...as everyone knows...she shouldn't waste her time/energy.   We don't want her to get burned out by spinning her wheels and wasting constituents time applying for the gig.

Jobs like that don't go to hard-working regular Illinois residents.  Nope.  You have to be clout'd in by Governor Pat Quinn to get a plum assignment like that these days.

The Truth About The Illinois Economy and Jobs Via The Illinois Policy Institute

It isn't all roses for Pat Quinn and the Illinois Democrats.  Via Michael Lucci at the Illinois Policy Institute in a piece titled "The Truth Hurts" that they emailed out:

Illinois’ labor force shrank by 17,100 people in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS also reported that the state's unemployment rate fell to 6.8% from 7.1%. However, the entire decline in the July unemployment rate came as a result of workers quitting the workforce. 

This grim news comes after a disastrous June, when 21,600 people dropped out of the Illinois workforce – more than any other month in state history.
In the last four months, a total of 63,000 Illinoisans have quit the labor force. Workers quitting the workforce has been the primary factor driving the unemployment rate down to 6.8% from 8.4% in the same period. 

Meanwhile, Illinois’ working-age population has grown by 17,000 in the last four months, leaving a total of 80,000 working-age Illinoisans out of the workforce and unaccounted for since March. As a result, Illinois’ labor force participation rate slid to historic lows.

Illinois gained 10,300 payroll jobs, according to the BLS' establishment survey. However, the state remains down 5,900 private-sector jobs on the year, the worst record of any state in 2014. Only Illinois and Alaska are down jobs on the year.

Illinois remains 170,000 jobs away from recovering to the number of jobs the state had in January 2008, when recession job losses began.

Seventeen states have already recovered all the jobs they lost during the recession. The Land of Lincoln remains furthest away from recovery of any state in the U.S.

A number of factors have contributed to the worst recovery in the U.S. 

Policy leaders have done nothing to reform Illinois’ broken system of cronyism and excessive business regulation. The state’s nonsensical regulations and excessive wait times contribute to a dismal business environment, which was given an F by local small businesses. 

However, the most blatant policy misstep was the historic 2011 tax hike, which raised taxes on all Illinoisans by 67%, and signaled to business the state’s determination to follow a tax-and-spend direction. The 2011 tax hike put the brakes on Illinois’ jobs recovery, dramatically slowing down a recovery that, up until that point, had been keeping pace with the rest of the Midwest and U.S. 

Employment growth has slowed down by more than one-half since the January 2011 tax hike. Employment growth has accelerated for the rest of the U.S. since the same date. 

Job growth has slowed down by more than one-quarter since the January 2011 tax hike. 

Job growth has accelerated for the rest of the U.S. since the same date. 

The first steps necessary for beginning a real recovery include admitting that there is a problem, addressing the symptoms and looking for the root causes. 

One obvious cause is the 2011 tax hike. To allow the state to heal, the 2011 tax hikes must be sunset and then eliminated. If not, Illinois' labor force will continue to suffer.

Bruce Rauner: Illinois Can Do Better

In a recently released video ad, Governor's candidate Bruce Rauner says:  "Illinois can do better".  The spot, timed with Today's Budget Address from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn points out that for the five years of service Governor Quinn has given us here's what we've received:

• 90K jobs lost
• massive tax hikes
• thousands of children in failing schools
• worst pension debt and credit rating in America

Illinois: Worst in the Midwest for Jobs. Take a Bow Governor Quinn

Take a bow, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.  You've taken Illinois from middle-of-the-pack when it comes to 'jobless' numbers to second to last in the nation and worst in the "midwest".  You can see our previous post - which includes a map showing the jobless rates (meaning...the rate at which people without jobs has gone up or down.  In our case, it...went up.  Not a good thing.).

A fine line from Jack Dorgan:  

“Pat Quinn’s five years in Springfield have given us a broken budget, the biggest tax hike in Illinois history, and dropped our state to the bottom of the barrel on jobs. Businesses and families are leaving our state. We need a change, because we can’t afford four more years of Pat Quinn."

You'll hear that question a lot in these coming months:  Can we afford to keep these guys running Illinois?

Illinois Tops on a Very Bad List Thanks to Tax Increases

As pointed out by OneMan, this chart from the Illinois Policy Institute shows how Illinois' jobless rate has gone up more in the last five years than any other state in the nation.

Is there an explanation for this?  We're guessing the income tax increases the Democrats have jammed through are at the root of the issue.    Head on over to the IPI blog to read the whole thing.

Rep. Ed Sullivan: It's Time We Got Government Out Of The Way Of Small Business

State Representative Ed Sullivan - who is known as a strong fiscal conservative - has come out fighting for the Illinois economy.  He wants to head back to Springfield to help create more jobs, more opportunities, and ultimate an even better Illinois.

He specifically wants to tackle issues that affect small businesses and transportation:

It's time we got government out of the way of small business so entrepreneurs can create good-paying jobs. To accomplish this we need to reduce the cost of doing business in Illinois. I am proud to have written the law that reformed unemployment insurance, saving 50% of Illinois businesses in unemployment insurance costs. We must do more. This means actually reforming workers compensation, further addressing unemployment insurance, and reducing the burden onerous litigation places on businesses.

Then, we need to look towards the future by investing in desperately-needed transportation improvements. I voted for the current capital program that is in place, but much more is needed including the Route 53 extension. And as our budgetary situation improves, I hope to invest much more in our transportation so we can reduce gridlock and take advantage of Illinois' competitive advantage as the transportation hub of the Midwest.

Let's help him.  You can volunteer for his campaign here.

Dan Rutherford Out With 1st Ad: "Jobs"

As detailed by the Illinois Review, the Dan Rutherford for Governor campaign is going to keep truckin' on.  They've shared their first televion spot.  Embedded below, this ad appears to be slated to run during the figure skating competition (can't make this stuff up, folks) of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Will it turn the numbers in his favor?  He has some money to put behind it.  Time will tell if he's hitting the right message.

Pat Quinn and 3rd Highest Unemployment Rate

Five years ago today, Pat Quinn became governor. Today, IL has 93,000 fewer jobs and the 3rd highest unemployment rate. #twill
— IL Republican Party (@ilgop) January 29, 2014

The ILGOP reminds us all what Pat Quinn's Illinois looks like five years in.  We think we've all had just about enough.