National Review’s Kevin Williamson On Pat Quinn’s Illinois [AUDIO]

Living in Illinois and being around the news every day, I think grabbing the perspective of an outsider sometimes is helpful in understanding how our problems compare to those around the country. And, unfortunately, the usual response is that Illinois' problems really are as bad as they seem

Kevin Williamson of National Review has the cover story for the most recent print edition of the magazine, entitled "How To Ruin the Land of Lincoln". He spent some time traveling the state from suburban Chicago all the way down to East St. Louis. He joined us earlier this week to describe what he found.

I give Kevin a lot of credit because for the short time he engrossed himself in Illinois and its issues, he has a firm grasp on what's happening and where we fall short. We asked him about the incumbent Governor, currently running for re-election:

Pat Quinn is America's worst governor and certainly [is] in the sense that he is the one who is least equal to the challenge before him. I mean, Illinois was in bad shape before he got hold of it, although he's been in politics here long enough, but the turnaround of something like that...the unfunded liabilities and pension...is going to be an interesting test case. To fix a situation like Illinois' situation would take a really unique kind of political genius, a sort of Churchill-level of leadership and this guy ain't that.

Here's our full conversation with Kevin. You can buy National Review for the full piece or pay a quarter (yes, just 25 cents!) and buy the digital version here.