One of the things I get amused by is when my opponent talks about the middle class.

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.

My kids were targeted on Facebook by protesters.

When I'm writing a lyric, I totally forget about the music. I'm just looking at the lyric and thinking about it almost as a separate entity. And then I'll go to my keyboard with all the lyrics printed out and try to think of how to make this a complete musical thing. I've got a very basic keyboard with some presets.

Governors should be defined not just by what they do and say, but who they surround themselves with.

We are the ones looking out for the middle class. Who do think pays for the endless expansion of government? Its middle class taxpayers. Our reforms protect middle class taxpayers.

About 70 percent of everything is really sketched out on my keyboard beforehand, because I do want accidents to happen in the studio.