* Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is now running a second TV ad which builds on his first one. The new ad is called “Details.” Let’s rate the new one….
* Meanwhile, Sen. Kirk Dillard has issued a pretty detailed and interesting white paper on economic development. Step one, the budget…
Spending will be capped at Fiscal 2010 levels for the foreseeable future. […] The Dillard Administration will utilize zero-based budgeting and embark on a process to rebuild state government from the ground up.
He takes a look at lots of different things, including health care…
While we wait for the outcome on the national debate on health care reform, Illinois will create a pilot program designed to encourage a small businesses and sole proprietors to pool their employees into larger groups, remove certain coverage mandates, and allow health maintenance organizations to place reasonable deductible costs on their policies.
Manufacturing modernization…
The Illinois Modernization & Retooling Program will be reinstated to assist Manufacturers in making necessary reinvestments in their facilities to enable for them to remain competitive and keep there existing workforce in Illinois.
Tax incentives…
Examples include a tax credit for new jobs created, a sales tax holiday to spur retail sales and a letter of credit program to allow projects to proceed and create jobs.
Dillard also talks the talk on education to the point where people like Mayor Daley might be OK with him…
The Dillard Administration will continue to invest in Early Childhood education and commit resources to training our workers to compete in the 21st Century global economy. Illinois needs to set high standards for all children regardless of where they live and then provide the necessary tools to teachers, administrators, school boards and parents so that they can succeed at the local level without unnecessary government interference. The state will renew its commitment to make sure that every child can attend school safe from violence and prepared to learn. And we will focus on stemming performance erosion in the vital middle grades.
Some of it is insidery, but important. For instance, organized labor will work much harder to defeat a Republican who refuses to abide by the legislative “agreed bill process” for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance. Dillard tries to set their minds at ease…
Kirk Dillard strongly believes in maintaining the sanctity of the agreed-bill process. Recognizing that the process often only promotes communication when stakes are high and stances are far apart, Dillard will form on ad-hoc basis the Illinois Jobs Creation Council. The Council’s goal will be to seek areas of common-ground interest to promote creative ideas on the creation of jobs—something that benefits both sides. It is Dillard’s belief that finding those common areas of interest will spur better and more innovative ideas on attracting and keeping good-paying jobs in Illinois.
Go check it out.