Statement of Cheryle Jackson State of the Union Address

President Obama tonight recognized what I have been talking about since Day 1 of my campaign for the U. S. Senate: middle-class families are frustrated by the slow pace of Washington to address their economic plight. If there are no jobs, there is no recovery.

The state of the union is precarious for the jobless, for families facing foreclosure, and for small businesses fighting for survival. We need new priorities in Washington to focus on families, not big bankers and companies that export jobs overseas. I applaud the President for recognizing our need to put everyday families first. The President's speech is a good start, but we need more done to encourage small business creation, and more money spent to encourage the development of clean energy jobs that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create new industries right here in Illinois.

And we need to push ahead with health care reforms to expand coverage, contain costs, and make sure that people can get insurance if they have preexisting health conditions and keep it no matter how sick they get. We must invest in jobs right here at home, and it is unacceptable to freeze domestic spending on initiatives that can help create jobs while refusing to freeze spending on foreign aid.