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Last updated 11:43 am CT September 02, 2010.
Quinn Opens Du Quoin Mansion, Refers to Himself as "Repairman"
News Three took that opportunity to catch up with him, asking him to assess his first seven months in office and the road ahead for Illinois.
Hundreds waited in line to take a peek inside the mansion and see the governor. Some wanted to say “Hello” or ask for an autograph.
Others had something more serious in mind for the meetings that lasted only seconds.
Joanna Simpson-Abel works for the Center for Independent Living in Carbondale, an agency that helps disabled adults.
She says that organization is cutting back because funding from the state is drying up.
"The reality is people are suffering in Southern Illinois and across the board. We need jobs, we need industry here, we need money here and now it’s affecting the most vulnerable citizens," Simpson-Abel said.
Quinn will tell you those are the issues that have been on his mind since taking office seven months ago.
Moving forward he says, "My goal is to clean up government in Illinois, get our economy back on track, get us more jobs, and also have a balanced budget where we pay our bills. That's my job as a repair man. A governor who is a repair man."
Quinn continues to believe that rebuilding the state financially will mean that the people who lined up to meet him will pay more income taxes.
"[I’m] not really looking forward to the income tax increase,” said Les Russell of Richview, Ill.
But even as he runs for re-election, Quinn promises he won't be shy about telling voters he believes that's exactly what the state needs to do.
"I think you need to have a governor who's honest, who believes in honest leadership and tells the truth. A lot of these other characters just want to tell a fairytale," the governor said.
The “characters” he refers to may be the legislators and political rivals that rejected the income tax increase Quinn proposed in his budget address in April.
The governor saw the increase as a way to save jobs like the ones set to be cut at prisons across the state by the end of September.
About 50 jobs will be cut at the Vienna Correctional Center in Johnson County. In all, the Department of Corrections plans to lay off 419 employees as of Sept. 30. A total of 1,000 will be let go in an effort to save $125 million and close an $11.6 billion budget deficit.
"I'd rather not cut the budget and lay people off if I can possibly avoid it and that's all about negotiating. This coming week is very, very important for that," Quinn said.
He’ll meet with AFSCME, the union that represents those workers, and ask them to accept furlough days and forego a wage increase.
If they agree, “There may be some layoffs, but I think basically we can do a lot of good [if] we can just come up with a formula where everybody works together and there's shared sacrifice," Quinn said.
Quinn knows he has critics who pan the way he handled this year's budget process and his policies in general.
Lawmakers in both parties balk at the idea of a tax increase.
Comptroller Dan Hynes will challenge Quinn in the primary race for governor. He accused the governor of failing to provide leadership during the budget process.
On Friday, Hynes criticized Quinn for vetoing a campaign finance reform bill the governor had originally praised.
Quinn explains that the bill would have been historic—creating the first caps on campaign contributions in Illinois history—and he vetoed it at the request of lawmakers who sponsored the bill.
One of those lawmakers, Senate President John Cullerton, (D)-Chicago, told the governor he thought they could do better and wanted to revisit the issue during October’s veto session.
Reform groups applauded the veto, but in a written statement Hynes called it “a clear reminder that our state deserves a governor who will lead with a clear vision and won’t vacillate on important issues.”
Quinn dismissed that criticism.
“There’s a lot of ankle-biters out there running for office,” he said. “They’re going to tear me down, but I think the people of Illinois know I’m good and true when it comes to standing up for them.”
After a year marked by the Blagojevich scandal, the folks that lined up outside the mansion in Du Quoin were reluctant to criticize Quinn, and glad there was a new face to greet them.
"He can't do magic but he can do what he can and I believe he's trying to do that," said Ronald W. Johnson of Sparta, Ill.
“I liked Jim Edgar,” said Jean Switzer of Harrisburg, Ill. “But this guy is trying. He's such a breath of fresh air from our former governor."
By Dana Jay
djay@wsiltv.com
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