I joke with my kids, who love history, that I'll be the only governor to be elected twice in his first term.

The unions say 'last hired - first fired,', we say hire and fire based on merit. We want the best and brightest in the classroom.

I hate big government, but I really hate a government that doesn't work. So when 'they say we either have to raise taxes or cut core services,' it's actually a 'false choice.

Matching sounds in your head is made a lot easier with all the technology. It is the nonelectronic noises that are challenging, as you have to find ways of communicating those to the people you're working with.

But Mitt Romney understands, like I understand, that people - not governments - create jobs.

More people on unemployment benefits is not success in America, fewer people on not because we kicked them off but because they have been able to get a job in the private sector, because government got out of the way.

Political leaders in Illinois kicked the can down the road, raised taxes, and ignored fiscal realities. Now, they're realizing the consequences of their actions: credit downgrades and negative outlooks.