The State of Illinois, like many of its residents, has a tough year ahead. That much was clear from Governor Pat Quinn’s State of the State address yesterday. But what other directions are we to take from Quinn’s extra-long speech? An economist will join us shortly to give us his take on the speech – and the state economy. But we want to hear your thoughts on how things are going—for you and for the state. How easy is it to get by in the Prairie State these days? How is business? For an analysis of the speech – and the state economy - we turn to economist J. Fred Giertz. Giertz is an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

What are YOUR fiscal priorities for the state? What’s the state of your state? Both fiscal and personal? Tell us in the comments below. Or email us or Tweet us.

Related:
The State of Your State series

Music Button: The Band, “The Shape I’m In”, from the CD Rock of Ages, (Capitol records)