Fixing the Economy

Thanks to the poor leadership of Rod Blagojevich and other career politicians in Springfield, Illinois now faces a record budget deficit.  Necessary services risk being cut and the state is late in paying many of its bills, including the paychecks of employees and educators.  At the same time, unemployment is high, and there are fewer jobs available.  We will not get out of this mess by electing the same type of politicians who got us here.

It is imperative we do all we can to help close the $7-10 billion deficit Illinois faces, and spending cuts are absolutely necessary to balance the budget.  I would propose measures to reduce wasteful spending and decrease government bureaucracy.  Illinois must learn to be more efficient by focusing on quality as opposed to quantity.  Unfortunately, the deficit is so deep that spending cuts are not enough.  I also support a modest progressive tax, which would bring in an estimated $4 billion with minimal impact to the working families who can least afford it.

Dealing with corruption and addressing the state’s budget will go a long way toward making Illinois more welcoming to businesses, but even more can be done to help create jobs.  As jobs are lost and industries change, more job training and business mentoring programs are needed to help retool displaced workers so they can fill remaining jobs.  The state must also do more to attract new businesses and increase the pool of available jobs.  For example, federal stimulus money can be used to encourage the construction of clean energy facilities across the state.  This will create new construction jobs, followed by jobs maintaining the facilities.

Illinois has felt the negative effects of this recession for long enough.  It is time to be proactive about attracting business, creating jobs, and dealing with our budget crisis.