Quinn, Brady Hold “Corned Beef Summit”

With a conversation focused on Illinois' economy and jobs, Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican Sen. Bill Brady dined on corned beef sandwiches during a meeting at Chicago's Manny's Deli on Tuesday afternoon.

The lunch was a show of solidarity following a long and contentious race for the state's highest office.

Quinn seemed to do most of the talking during his meeting with Brady and then they went their separate ways for a Q and A session with the media.

"It was a nice conversation, particularly nice that he bought lunch, and we talked about what we're going to do to work in the future," said Brady.

He said that he and the governor "agreed to disagree" on the income tax hike that Quinn feels is necessary.

Quinn said that one area on which he and Brady both agree is the need for high-speed rail. 

"I see that as an area that we can really work together on, especially not only in getting these fast trains put together fast, but also building rail cars," said Quinn.

The governor was asked about the rehiring of former Chief of Staff Jerry Stermer, who resigned over the summer after sending campaign-style emails from his government computer.  Stermer will not be a senior advisor to Quinn and will take five days without pay for the email debacle.

The "corned beef summit," was modeled after the "Beer Summit" that Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Sen.-elect Mark Kirk had the day after the General Election.  

Quinn extended the invitation shortly after Brady conceded the race with fewer than 20,000 votes between them.

"We may have differences -- strong differences -- on policy issues, but we are all Americans and we're all Illinoisans and we have to work together for the common good at all times," Quinn said at the time

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