At his State of the State address on Wednesday, Gov. Quinn put forth a series of minor tax credits and investment (spending)IN Gov. Mitch DanielsIL Gov. Pat Quinn ideas to get the state's economy moving. This is not the minor action Illinois' declining economy needs! llinois needs broad, transformative pro-growth change like Mitch Daniels has delivered in Indiana. Unfortunately, Gov. Quinn is beholden to special interests like labor union bosses and trial lawyers that prevent the realization of the type of pro-growth change Indiana has undertaken.

The highly respected Chicago-based fiscal watchdog group, the Civic Federation, released a report yesterday detailing the dire state of Illinois' financial situation. The challenges facing Illinois are nothing short of frightening and monumental. Read the report here.

It is clearer than ever, Illinois needs real leadership from the Governor and General Assembly to tackle the state's massive spending problem and its unsustainable obligations in public pensions and Medicaid. Here at AFP-IL, we will keep the pressure on our leaders and demand pension, Medicaid and spending reform.

Check out Illinois Policy Institute's report, "Wrong Way, Illinois" to see how Gov. Quinn's policies have caused the Land of Lincoln to fall behind on job growth.

From the report: "Almost a year after Illinois’ record income tax increase, the state’s unemployment woes contrast starkly with the slow but positive national economic recovery. Unemployment rates in 46 states dropped since January 2011, and some dramatically. Illinois’ unemployment rate, on the other hand, was 9.8 percent in December, up from 9 percent in January 2011. Simply put, Illinois placed more people on the unemployment rolls than any other state in the country."