Springfield, IL… Citing Governor Quinn’s lack of leadership in his State of the State Address today, State Representative Suzanne “Suzie” Bassi (R-Palatine) said she is angry about the governor’s lack of direction for the new legislative year.

“This is unacceptable! The people of this state deserve more. The Governor failed to address the serious problems facing Illinois today – the financial crisis, $6 billion of unpaid bills and the unemployment rate near 11 percent. It was nothing but a stump campaign speech,” said Bassi. “I was looking for some leadership and strong ideas on how to get out of this mess, instead he focused on last year’s legislation and side-stepped all of the questions that we need answers to.”

The Governor’s speech was about patting Pat Quinn on the back. Little has changed since Rod Blagojevich was impeached, said Bassi.

“The sad reality is that not much has changed since Blagojevich’s impeachment. Our budget and unemployment situation have gotten worse and Democrats continue to spend money the state does not have while pushing businesses out of Illinois. People are hurting and we need to put them back to work, not increase the state’s income tax on working families and employers,” she said.

Citing the need for fiscal reform, Bassi said she will continue to fight Governor Quinn and the Democrats plan to raise taxes and push for legislation that changes the budgetary process.