If this editorial has all the familiar signs of the “lesser of two evils” political mantra, it’s intentional. It’s a feeling all-too recognizable in Illinois politics, but it’s the reality of our current political make-up.

And when it comes to governing the state of Illinois, Pat Quinn is the lesser of two evils (or, as The Southern Illinoisan referred him last week, “the devil you know”).

When Quinn took office in 2009, he inherited a free-falling state economy thanks to the global financial crisis. Ink was still drying on subpoenas in the Rod Blagojevich scandal, marking one of the most embarrassing chapters in the politics of a state all-too familiar with corruption charges.

Despite all that, Quinn has actually helped improve a floundering Illinois economy, even in the face of numerous credit downgrades and an ungodly pension debt problem.

Since taking office, unemployment in Illinois has fallen to 6.6 percent. Additionally, the state’s discretionary spending, so rampant and unfettered in the past, is down by almost 10 percent—a pretty remarkable number, considering the state legislatures history as well as a toxic pension problem.

Through Quinn’s initiatives, the state’s Medicaid program will see what his office estimates at $5.7 billion in budget savings. Socially, Quinn has been on the forefront of a pretty liberal agenda, signing bills to legalize same-sex marriage and medicinal marijuana, while also abolishing the death penalty in Illinois.

Of course, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Illinois’ recovery from the 2008 financial crisis has been lackluster compared to many other states. Lawmakers are still largely grasping at straws to deal with our worst-in-the-nation pension deficit (even Quinn’s own reforms are likely to be killed by the Supreme Court next year). And the Governor’s supposed “temporary” increase in the state income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent seems more and more permanent with every passing year.

With Quinn, though, we know what we’re getting—something we can hardly say about Bruce Rauner. Rauner’s campaign has largely been defined by attack ads (that isn’t to say Quinn’s hands are clean, either) and tired free-market clichés. Capitalist brouhaha can only rally the vote so much, and Rauner’s promise to “shake up Springfield” is less a political strategy than it is a catchy campaign slogan.

And while Rauner’s promise to cut income taxes might sound appealing to the average voter, it will come at the cost of education budgets and public works projects. Rauner has repeatedly tried to cast himself a friend of the middle class, yet his fiscal policy paints a different picture—one which pits low taxes against funding for schools.

This was the year Illinois Republicans could have finally emerged from the margins. Quinn was (and is) vulnerable, and by most measures, a socially moderate Republican would have fared well in the gubernatorial election. Unfortunately, what we were given instead was Rauner—a career businessman championing the same tired “free-market” policies that have continually hurt the middle class.

Re-electing Quinn might not be the “sexiest” move for Illinoisans. But voting in Rauner would, indeed, shake up Springfield. Just not in the way we need.