Ryan announces

Yesterday in Springfield, former Attorney General Jim Ryan announced his intentions to be the seventh Republican candidate for governor in the February 2, 2010 primary. We found his announcement speech on his website, and thought you might like to read where he's headed.

Following is the text of Jim Ryan’s speech announcing his candidacy for Illinois Governor — as prepared for delivery, November 3, 2009:

Good afternoon.

I’m here today with my wife, Marie and our family to announce my candidacy for Governor.

I chose Springfield to begin my campaign because this is where our elected representatives gather from every part of the state to collectively do the people’s business.

I also chose the capitol for this announcement because representative government here is broken.

In a representative democracy power is held by the people. It is exercised indirectly on their behalf through their elected representatives.

They are expected to make decisions in our best interests. The uncomfortable truth is that state government in Illinois has failed us despite the efforts of a lot of good men and women. Decisions have too often been made not in the public interest, but despite it.

We are all familiar with the famous quote by Lord Acton, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” With one former governor in prison, and his successor under criminal indictment, it is no wonder we have lost faith in the system.

The social contract in Illinois has been breached:

• We did not consent to an eleven billion dollar budget deficit
• We did not consent to 80 billion dollars in unfunded pension obligations.
• We did not consent to bringing this state to the brink of bankruptcy.
• And we certainly did not consent to paying a corruption tax.

Representative government in Illinois is broken!

Although there is plenty of blame to go around, there is no denying that our state’s fiscal condition has worsened under nearly eight years of Democratic control.

• Reckless spending,
• Fiscal mismanagement,
• Systemic corruption,
• A hostile business climate that has cost us jobs and damaged our economy
• And a lack of authentic leadership all threaten our state’s future.

The Democratic response to the fiscal, economic, and ethical challenges facing Illinois is:

• to propose higher taxes,
• increased spending and
• to adopt an anemic version of real ethics and campaign finance reform.

The former would further damage Illinois’ economy in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression and the latter will do little to restore trust in the political process.

I decided to run for Governor because, as a father and grandfather, I am deeply distressed about the direction of our state.

I believe in the importance of public service and the positive role government can play in improving the lives of people.

I believe that government does not have to be the problem, it can be part of the solution.

The soul of our state is its people – good people who look to state government to make their lives a little better, not a lot worse.

We should never forget that the budget crisis and bad decisions made for short-term partisan gain have real world consequences for people. Children, families and taxpayers deserve better.

During the course of my campaign, I will outline the details of my agenda for Illinois. Right now, I want to tell you the voters, about the principles that will drive it.

• First — If elected governor, I will hold myself to the highest ethical standards and I will demand unyielding integrity on the part of my staff and every member of my administration.

• Second — Under my administration, government will be accountable, responsive and transparent in its operations, including appointments, hiring, contracting and financial reporting.

• Third — My administration, will honor government’s fiduciary responsibilities to you, the taxpayers, by eliminating waste, inefficiencies, duplication and unnecessary programs and spending. I will create an Advisory Council on Efficient Government, comprised of business leaders, academics and financial experts to conduct a top to bottom review of all state spending.

• Fourth — I will appoint a Council of Economic Advisors. I will bring together economists, university researchers, economic forecasters, business, and labor leaders to make policy recommendations that will make our state more productive and competitive.

• Fifth — I will not raise taxes. In a recession, raising taxes would do irreparable damage to our state’s economy. Instead I will cut spending and work to reform pensions, medicaid, and employee and retiree healthcare benefits.  The state has consistently spent more money each year than it receives in revenue. To stop the fiscal bleeding before it’s too late, we must impose fiscal discipline and make tough decisions. Short term and creative long-term strategies are necessary to avoid fiscal implosion.  When I campaigned for governor in 2002, I proposed an expenditure limit that would have capped spending at inflation and population growth.  If that had been accomplished, Illinois would have saved cumulatively 13.7 billion dollars, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. I propose this expenditure limitation again.

• Sixth — Fixing the budget and real ethics and campaign finance reform are means to an end, not an end in themselves.  Providing honest leadership and living within our means is the least we should expect from our government.  Yet these nagging issues have become monumental obstacles to achieving our state’s promise.

To transform our state from what it is to what it ought to be, will require strong leadership and collective action by good citizens. No one individual can change the course we are currently on. So today I call on the citizens of Illinois to join me in this campaign.

• Make it your campaign,
• Make it your cause,
• Make it your fight.

Let’s work together to bring real change to Illinois.

While we may not always agree on how to get where we want to go, and success will always require reasonable compromises, I know we can succeed because we share the same values and aspirations:

• To provide every child in Illinois with a quality education
• To work to eliminate poverty and inequality, by closing the achievement gap between white and minority students.
• To keep all of our children safe and healthy.  How can we be satisfied with a “D” on our state’s mental health report card?
• How many of our children must be neglected, abused or die from senseless gang violence before we say enough is enough!  We can do better.

In the seven years I’ve been away from government and politics, I’ve had more time to reflect on what’s truly important in life. What matters to me most in life are the people standing behind me.

If elected, I offer you my experience as a proven and successful statewide officeholder and as a human being whose good and bad experiences have tempered my outlook and sharpened my focus.

In the words of Marion Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: “If we don’t stand up for children then we don’t stand for much.”

As Governor I will be a strong advocate for our state’s children, the poor, the disabled and the mentally ill. I will not forget the marginalized in our state. Public policy in my administration will be driven by respect for life and human dignity.

But for us to do these things, we need to get our fiscal house in order.

Lincoln once said, “stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.” That timeless sentiment reflects my philosophy of government, politics and life.

If I am fortunate enough to be your next governor, I will fight for what’s right.

Starting today, let’s fight together. Let’s honor the wise words of Abraham Lincoln and make this great state a place our children are proud of.

Thank you and God Bless.

Comments

[The Whole Picture]

The Ryan campaign really needs to get a more recent photo of the candidate. He looks older and more thin now. He still looks good, but they really need to update the photo or else they'll look like they're trying to hide something.

[William Y. Williams]

YAWN. Stewie Levine.

[right winger]

I guess Ryan & McKenna are going to battle it out to see who can screw up this primary the most.

[Richard Channing]

•To work to eliminate poverty and inequality, by closing the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Read, I'm going to close achievement gaps by punishing white students and taking resources away from their schools.

Please go back to retirement Mr. Ryan.

[A.N.]

He lost to Blago, and now he thinks he stands a chance again. Go back to your retirement, you power hungry has been.

[Dennis C. Ryan]

I heard him speak on the radio this morning. His monotone is so bad I had trouble staying awake.
Just another "old Pol," like Schillerstrom and Kirk Edgar....OOPS!...Kirk DILLARD, who should just disappear into a well-deserved obscurity.

[Aaron Jacobs]

A few years after Rod Blagojevich was first elected Governor of Illinois, Republicans rightly showed concern for what seemed to be a smorgasbord of disreputable conduct surrounding the state's executive. Whispers swirled in some of the GOP circles that Blagojevich's final days were near, and that an impending indictment just had to be right around the corner. Eventually after all the chatter fell to rest and Blagojevich was elected again in 2006, it seemed that "Public Official A", as we understood him, may never be identified.

Fast forward to April 2009 and what seemed like GOP rumors quickly turned to on-the-mark forecasts of Blagojevich's future. Blagojevich fell, as some of his close associates had before him, and the top deal maker in Illinois was finally put out of business.

But if we look at the pattern of colossal Illinois corruption before the demise of Blagojevich, we see a name close to the GOP that was part of the Governor's game - Stuart Levine. Levine was a self-professed shakedown artist of massive proportions, and a major political contributor to current GOP Gubernatorial hopeful, Jim Ryan. Although there has been no indication of Ryan's involvement in any illicit activities, Illinois voters simply cannot take anymore chances. We can no longer afford to bet all our chips on the possibility that a bad looking situation is not what it seems. This is the first time that we've had in a while to move past the business as usual. Any Republicans who choose to vote for Ryan will be guilty of hypocrisy.

My father often tells me to never be too judgmental because nobody survives the microscope. I agree, but when a legitimate cause for concern arises, its time to move along to the next examination.