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Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Brady Criticizes Blagojevich for State “Adrift”; Priorities and Policies are “Wrong”

Sen. Bill Brady, Republican candidate for Governor, today issued the following statement in response to Gov. Blagojevich’s State of the State speech:

It is time for Governor Blagojevich to admit that the problems Illinois faces today are his responsibility. He can no longer blame anyone else.

Unfortunately, Illinois today is a state adrift, without promise for our children and grandchildren and without a leader who has the fortitude to boldly face up to our challenges and to his responsibility.

Over the last three years, we’ve seen Illinois sink economically, educationally and ethically.

His priorities are wrong, his policies are wrong, and his pandering is wrong.

Rod Blagojevich’s idea of the state of the state certainly doesn’t match what I’ve been hearing from the people of Illinois over the last year. He’s out of sync and out of touch. He has again turned his back on citizens who live Downstate and in suburban Chicago.

The people of Illinois want honest leadership, not trumped-up programs based on political gain rather than sensible public policy. They haven’t gotten that from this administration, and they didn’t get that today.

Illinois’ job growth rate under Rod Blagojevich is a paltry four-tenths of one percent, while other states and the nation are growing more than two percent. More than 17,000 trucking jobs have evaporated in Illinois because of his license fee increases. The people of Illinois want sound economic policy and good jobs, not a Governor who exports jobs to other states. They didn’t get that today either, and that’s why I am fighting to create a business climate that encourages job growth and have introduced legislation in the Senate to repeal his unfair tax and fee increases on business and to repeal the state sales tax on motor fuel.

The people of Illinois want our laws enforced to put criminals behind bars, not new laws that make criminals out of law-abiding citizens. I have a solid and consistent position in opposing a firearms ban and making Illinois tough on law-breakers.

And the people of Illinois certainly haven’t gotten their money’s worth over the last three years.

The people of Illinois are willing to pay a fair share. But they don’t want their hard-earned tax dollars siphoned off to repay political favors and to fuel his personal ambitions with expensive, expansive new programs when the state’s cupboard is nearly bare. I have consistently said “no” to taxes and voted against unaffordable programs throughout my legislative career.

The Governor had a chance today to set his record right and to offer some real solutions to some tough problems. As usual, he shirked his responsibility.

Instead of a realistic answer after three years of inaction, we get a capital program based on the shaky revenues of a casino game that he wants to put into every neighborhood bar, restaurant and convenience store without the consent of the General Assembly.

Instead, we get new programs for inmates that come at the cost of recent-built prisons still sitting empty.

Instead, of real answers to the state’s mounting budget deficits and borrowing, we get more new programs, platitudes and puffery.

Today’s speech was Rod Blagojevich’s attempt to save face and jumpstart a re-election campaign. It’s way too little and way too late for the voters of Illinois. They aren’t so easily fooled.

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