Quinn for Illinois

Like everyone else in Illinois, I have had to spend the past year listening to talk show hosts and late-night comics making jokes about our state and the people who have led us. But there is nothing remotely funny about a government, at any level, that has lost sight of its true responsibilities.

We should never forget that, over the past decade, the people of Illinois have twice been shocked and saddened by allegations of widespread corruption in the Governor’s office. 

Our state government has the power -- and the responsibility -- to make decisions and take actions that have an enormous impact on our health, our safety, our finances and our future. We have the right to expect that those decisions will be made honestly and fairly.

But we must also remember that, while Illinois has been stained by corruption in elected office, we also look back with pride on such great, courageous reformers as Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, U.S. Senator Paul Douglas, U.S. Senator Paul Simon, and President Barack Obama.

I was born here in Illinois. I have been proud to make this state my home. For four decades, I have been working to reform government at every level and to make sure that everyday people receive proper value for their tax dollars. 

In my 10 months as Governor, I have worked hard to restore people’s faith in their state government, and to prove that Illinois is not the Land of Larceny, Political Opportunism and Corruption. 

We have passed, and I have signed, a long list of new laws that are bringing true reform to Illinois government.  This morning, I will sign a new campaign finance law that creates the first-ever limits on contributions to candidates in Illinois.

I know that there are further reforms to be made, and I am committed to making real reform a top priority through the rest of my administration. But look where we are today, compared with one year ago: We have overhauled boards and commissions, bringing reform and transparency to organizations that were once ruled by political patronage.

We have passed and signed a tough new law reforming state procurement procedures, making it a crime to trade political favors for procurement contracts.

We have strengthened the powers and transparency of the executive inspector general.

We have tightened the revolving door law, to keep state workers from taking jobs with the very companies they have regulated.

We have empowered the secretary of state's inspector general to investigate lobbyists who break the rules. 

We have created the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal, so taxpayers can go on-line and find out exactly where their money is going.

There is more that we can do to reform our state government. But in my months as Governor, we have shown that, with integrity and honest hard work, we can repair our reputation and prove to the world, and ourselves, that this is still the Land of Lincoln.

Governor Pat Quinn