The Employ Illinois Business Program, which offers low-interest
loans to both start-up and existing businesses, has been successful by
most accounts. Since it was launched in 1998, the state treasurer's
office reports
(PDF) that $175 million has been deposited, helping jumpstart 200
projects and create 13,000 new jobs in Illinois. Robin Kelly, the
Democratic nominee for State Treasurer, wants to ramp it up.
Her proposal would allow the state to guarantee
10 percent of any loan to small businesses that pledge to create jobs
within one year. That means if the company defaults on a loan, Illinois
would assume some of the debt obligation. By loosening the local credit markets, Kelly says her office can create 1,000 jobs in the first year. Watch her explain the idea at a recent press conference:
Republican nominee Dan Rutherford isn't a fan of this approach. "I'm not looking to expand into brand-new programs," he told the Tribune. "We can't afford them." Like the race for comptroller,
both treasurer candidates are offering divergent visions for how
Illinois can improve its economy. They are contests worth following.
According to a new survey of likely voters from Public Policy Polling, the Republicans running for Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer have an edge over their Democratic rivals.
Republican State Comptroller nominee Judy Baar Topinka and Republican
State Treasurer nominee Dan Rutherford want to merge the two positions
into a single financial office. The restructuring, which they say would
save $12 million, wouldn't happen until 2014 under their proposal. The
two offices were established four decades ago to ensure one corrupt
official couldn't embezzle or misspend tax dollars.
The Illinois Education Association (IEA) has endorsed
Democratic nominee Robin Kelly for Illinois Treasurer and Republican nominee Judy Baar
Topinka for Illinois Comptroller, according to a press release. In January, the IEA backed the Democratic Comptroller candidate, State Rep. David Miller (D-Lynwood), in his party's primary race.
Both Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias earned the endorsements of Citizen Action/Illinois,
one of the state's largest public interest organizations. The group's
state PAC also voted to support Robin Kelly for state treasurer and
David Miller for state comptroller. Their full state slate is available
here.
The political arm of the Illinois AFL-CIO also endorsed Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate, David Miller for state comptroller, and Robin Kelly for state treasurer.
One last time, we updated our Democratic state candidate fundraising spreadsheet, adding in contributions (over $500 dollars) filed since last Wednesday night. Dan Hynes and Terry O'Brien both closed strong.
With just five days to go before
the February 2 primary, donors keep funneling money into the warchests
of state and county-wide campaigns. Check out our updated fundraising spreadsheet.
