SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn got invited on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning, to talk about the president's State of Union address and the Republican presidential primary.

But even there, he couldn't steer clear of the narrative that he raised taxes on all Illinoisans, then let a few big companies off the hook when they threatened to leave.

That was essentially how host Joe Scarborough framed the issue, asking whether Quinn's administration was going to bow to Republican pressure to scale back the 67-percent income tax hike the state imposed last year as it struggled with a crushing budget deficit.

"No, we're not," Quinn answered, then veered into what the state is doing to invest in new manufacturing jobs. Scarborough pressed back at the tax point—politely, but still—asking if it was fair to say that Quinn gave "big corporations sweetheart deals" in last month's targeted tax rollback

"I don't think it's fair at all" to put it that way, Quinn answered.

The "sweetheart deal" characterization may be debatable, but Quinn and the Legislature last month did in fact carve out tax give-backs to Sears, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Champion Laboratories. The breaks are worth $300 million over the next 10 years.

There were various reasons for the deal, but in the case of Sears, it was simply because the company threatened to leave Illinois if it didn't get it.

Quinn was in New York for a meeting of the Democratic Governors Association. He was joined on the morning news show by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

The upside for Illinois? Not one mention by anyone of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who starts his 14-year prison sentence for corruption March 15.