President Obama's Labor Day speech in Milwaukee, poll shows drop in support in Illinois -slideshow

President Barack Obama has just wrapped up his Labor Day speech at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a speech streamed live on the Internet.

The President used his address to announce a $500 billion program to revamp and expand the country's network of roads, railways and runways/ He said the program would create jobs and shore up the nation's aging transportation infrastructure.

The President says the plan builds on infrastructure investments already in place as part of the Recovery Act.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Roads: Rebuild 150,000 miles of roads
• Railways: Construct and maintain 4,000 miles of rail – enough to go coast-to-coast;
• Runways: Rehabilitate or reconstruct 150 miles of runway – while putting in place a NextGen system that to try and reduce travel time and delays.

The President delivered his speech before a friendly and enthusiastic crowd of labor supporters at the annual Milwaukee Area Labor Council Laborfest.  Most in the audience for the speech were union members and their families, according to event organizers. ( See slideshow)

During the speech today, President Obama likened the U.S.  economy to a car in a ditch. He said the Republicans drove the car into the ditch with their failed economic policies that favor the wealthy and special interest groups. He said now that the Democrats and middle class people are helping push the car out of the ditch, the Republicans want to drive the car again.

"I don't want to give them the keys back." Obama said to the cheering crowd. " They don't know how to drive." He added, "They're going to pop it into reverse and have special interests riding shotgun and we'd be right back in the ditch."

Many of the President's themes today were those he discussed in his weekly radio address on Saturday. (See video below)

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune today released results of a poll that shows support for Obama is slipping in Illinois.

The Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows 51% of the 600 registered voters polled approve of the job he's done as president and 39% disapprove. A poll done last year at this time showed Obama's approval rating at 59% in Illinois.

Obama continues to reach out to his middle-class base of supporters in the Midwest. He kicked off the summer here in the Chicago area with a Memorial Day address at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and now he wrapped up the summer in Milwaukee. He's back in Cleveland on Wednesday to promote his new economic proposals.