State of the State BINGO!

Gov. Quinn’s State of the State address Noon Wednesday, Feb. 6 Watch Gov. Quinn’s State of the State address live online. How he frames the issues and which solutions he offers will be instructive. Gov. Pat Quinn is hinting that his State of the State speech will remind the public how the state?s image has been cleaned...

How he frames the issues and which solutions he offers will be instructive.

Gov. Pat Quinn is hinting that his State of the State speech will remind the public how the state?s image has been cleaned up under his watch. According to Quinn, the state has been scandal-free since 2009 when he
was tapped as lieutenant governor to lead Illinois. Instead of one governor heading to federal prison, Illinois has three state legislators facing federal charges.

Quinn is also expected to address the state’s dire financial crisis, which includes the nation’s worst credit rating, worst-funded pensions and $9.4 billion in unpaid bills.

Last year during his State of the State address, Quinn promised to take on pensions:

Fixing the pension problem will not be easy, but we have no choice.

We must do it together in a way that is meaningful, constitutional, and fair to the employees who have faithfully contributed to the system.

That?s why I?ve assembled a pension working group to propose a solution that can be enacted this year.

Download the full transcript for Gov. Quinn’s State of the State 2012 address

Will he present a plan to fix pensions, or will he recommend another pension working group?

Will Squeezy the Pension Python make a guest appearance?

Will he keep his promise to make the tax hike temporary, or will he continue to push for a progressive tax?

Will he ask for shared sacrifice?

It’s easy enough to co-opt the language of reform. Who doesn’t want to be the champion of small business and working families? But a politician’s record and his rhetoric are often very different things.

To drive this point home, the Illinois Policy Institute is hosting a “State of the State BINGO!” game. Below, see the details on how you can play along. Remember that while Gov. Quinn may
call for “tax relief,” it was his record 67% tax hike that shrunk your family budget.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Download one version of our cards below.
2. Watch Gov. Quinn’s State of the State Address
3. Follow the Illinois Policy Institute on Twitter (we will be live-tweeting throughout the speech) or on Facebook. We will call out whenever Gov. Quinn mentions something on the cards.
4. If you get five in a row (up-and-down, across or diagonally), tweet “BINGO! #SOS” @IllinoisPolicy or comment on our post “BINGO!” Facebook thread. The first three responses we see will
   win a free tickets to our next event.

DOWNLOAD A CARD

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