Quinn to State of the State critics: Be patient

Gov. Pat Quinn, left, looks on as Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks to reporters during a visit to the Chrysler assembly plant on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Belvidere, Ill. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

BELVIDERE, Ill. — Gov. Pat Quinn had his first chance Thursday to respond to criticism of his State of the State address.

Asked where he would get the money to support some of the tax breaks he is pushing, such as abolishing the state tax on natural gas and creating a new tax credit for families, Quinn said it would all be laid out in his budget address Feb. 22.

“It wasn’t the budget address, that’s going to come in three weeks,” Quinn told reporters while visiting the Chrysler plant in Belvidere, where he announced new jobs related to the building of the Dodge Dart.

Quinn said what he is focused on at the moment is his job-creation agenda. He said his No. 1 priority is economic growth and jobs. He said more will be said about the state’s financial challenges come the budget address.

Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle say the governor fell flat with his address Wednesday because he glossed over the biggest hurdle facing the state: the $9 billion debt crisis.