By Illinois Radio Network

CHICAGO – Speaking alongside Pastor Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church of Chicago Monday, Gov. Bruce Rauner said Illinois will continue a death spiral that will destroy neighborhoods unless there are reforms to expand the state’s economy.

Rauner said inaction by the legislature on meaningful economic reforms is detrimental to economically depressed areas, such as the South Side of Chicago.

“The lack of economic opportunity, the lack of good jobs, the lack of good schools is destroying our neighborhoods and causing our kids to turn to gangs and violence.”

Rauner most notably pointed to Illinois having the highest unemployment rate for African Americans in the nation, at 14 percent.

Rauner pushed for changes that would create more jobs, bring down the property tax burden, invest in schools and change the culture of government with term limits.

Brooks said job growth will go a long way toward improving the quality of life for his community.

“As a result, the gun violence that we’re experiencing every day…will start to decline and people can take care of their families, and we can have the type of lives that we hope for every American citizen.”

Chicago has seen more than 700 homicides this year, far more than the previous year.

Rauner said that if the economy doesn’t grow, social service spending won’t change things.

“We don’t have jobs, we don’t have economic growth, we have lower family incomes, the highest property taxes in America,” Rauner said. “If we don’t fix that, we can spend a lot in human service agencies and government programs; it won’t solve the problem.”

Brooks agreed.

“For far too long, we’ve had a dependency on government funds,” Brooks said. “We need to move from having dependency on government funds to having economic stability, having job creation.

Brooks said he has received death threats for supporting Rauner’s agenda, but he said he knows it’s what’s right for the state and the African American community.