Mark Kirk is having a rough summer.

The Republican congressman from the Chicago suburbs is running for the Illinois Senate seat formerly occupied by President Obama, but he is currently spendinghis days on the campaign trail attempting to placate a conservative base furious over his vote for the House climate bill.

Washington wants to hand Illinois a huge new tax bill. The "cap-and-trade" scheme at the core of the energy tax bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would have an enormous negative impact. Some studies show Illinois could lose 150,000 jobs, and families could lose thousands of dollars in disposable income every year. Congressman Mark Kirk voted yes for this bill despite the huge negative impact on taxpayers.

The cap-and-trade scheme is a huge new tax in disguise - a tax on energy that will drive up the price of nearly everything in the country.

Americans for Prosperity State Director Joe Calomino talks to ABC 7 applauding Governor Quinn for cutting $1 billion in spending to reduce the state's deficit.