- Chandler West / Sun-Times Media
- Governor Pat Quinn is happy to report that the Illinois economy isn’t quite as lousy as before.
Governor Pat Quinn had reason to cheer the latest Illinois job figures released this week. The state’s unemployment rate fell in July to 6.8 percent, down from 7.1 percent a month earlier and 9.2 percent in July 2013.
Conventional wisdom—and actual evidence—has long established that at election time, it’s always the economy, stupid, especially in presidential races.
When Ryan’s successor, Rod Blagojevich, was up for reelection four years later, questions were already bubbling up about his version of pay-to-play politics. But unemployment had dropped to 4.4 percent, and he won reelection with a little less than half the votes cast.
I like the metaphor—it reminds me that football season is upon us, and my teams, Northwestern and the Bears, aren’t supposed to be terrible.
