Quinn should either step up or step down

The state of Illinois has a proposed budget of $26 billion and a budget deficit of $13 billion - an ocean of red ink. It is a budget deficit that is 50 percent of the budget, ranking it as one of the nation's worst fiscal cases.

And what is Gov. Quinn's answer to this financial train wreck? A meager cut in expenses and a whopping increase in taxes.

The governor would have us believe the only people working for the state are teachers, policemen and firemen. He would also have us believe that anyone who expects him to cut expenses until the budget is balanced is cruel, heartless, insensitive and uncaring.

We, as citizens, live in the real world and must make difficult decisions to ensure our expenses do not exceed our income. Sometimes those decisions are unpopular and painful.

As senior citizens living on a fixed income, with no increases for the next two years, we do not have a choice. We must live within our means.

The governor is more concerned with pandering to the unions and special interest groups than fulfilling the responsibilities and mandates of his office. If he is not up to the challenge, he must step down.

The careless, irresponsible, and incompetent behavior of our elected officials has taxpayers seeing red.

Ray Cziczo

Antioch