Giannoulias Holds Economic Roundtable With Residents of Rockford and Surrounding Communities

Press Release

Continuing to highlight his bold economic agenda, which prioritizes job creation and helping small businesses flourish, U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias today hosted members of the Northern Illinois community at a Rockford research and development center. Participants were encouraged to share their stories of confronting and surviving one of the Illinois' most challenging economic environments.

"Few communities in Illinois have borne the brunt of the disastrous Bush-Kirk economic record more than Rockford," Giannoulias said. "It shouldn't take record-high unemployment, sputtering growth and near-impossible access to credit to understand that those policies didn't work the first time, but those are the exact same polices Mark Kirk is proposing. As Illinois' next U.S. Senator, I will be a proud partner with President Obama in pursuing responsible policies that encourage long-term job creation for Illinois families and empower small businesses to take the lead in growing our economy."

On the other hand, months before the financial collapse and with six consecutive months of jobs losses, Republican Congressman Mark Kirk told reporters, "unemployment is not a big issue," to justify voting against extending unemployment benefits.
Winnebago County, which includes Rockford, faces a state-high 19 percent unemployment rate, according the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

At EIGERLab, a facility that hosts manufacturing research and development and small business incubation, Giannoulias met with local residents who are all feeling the effects of the economy firsthand, including small business owners, individuals dealing with persistent unemployment, and Northern Illinois residents who have seen their retirement savings depleted by job loss and the financial crisis.

"Everyone here has a story that needs to be heard, and there are many more stories like these affecting families all across Illinois," Giannoulias said. "I'm listening, and I know we have a tremendous amount of work to do so we can get Rockford's small businesses growing and competing again. With Futureworks, my economic plan, we will put people back to work and help struggling communities grow again."

Giannoulias is the only candidate in the Illinois race for U.S. Senate with a comprehensive, detailed jobs plan to put Illinois' economy back on track and put an end to the corporate practices that resulted in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

His Futureworks plan is designed to move our nation forward and build a 21st Century economy based on principles of fairness and innovation, addressing four key goals:

* Putting people back to work and stimulate the economy by cutting taxes for working Americans and small businesses, not wealthy corporations.
* Reining in unfair, deceptive and dangerous practices of corporations, financial institutions and mortgage brokers.
* Restoring fiscal sanity to the U.S. budget and begin closing the deficit, a tax on our children and grandchildren.
* Keeping our children competitive in the global economy and help people move to more secure jobs by investing in education and access to universities and community colleges.

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