Take a look at this report on the Illinois’s capital spending plan. Click on the following:http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/2010CapitalPigletBook.pdf
On July 13, 2009, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law legislation nicknamed “Illinois Jobs Now!”, which gave lawmakers $31 billion to dole out to pet projects, delaying much-needed spending restraint reforms while enabling the government’s profligate spending habits
Illinois is in dire financial shape, but that hasn’t stopped politicians from spending with vigor. In February 2010, the Illinois Policy Institute released the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book in conjunction with Citizens Against Government Waste, highlighting over $350 million in wasteful operational spending. This report provides a follow up to the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book by offering a closer look at Illinois’s capital spending plan
The following local projects are mentioned in the Illinois Piglet Book as questionable expenditures:
Page 7--land purchase/building renovation
$310,000 to the city of Belvidere
$150,000 to the Hampshire Park District;
$100,000 to the Rockford Park District for land acquisition
Page 9 Another investment that the state considers an integral part of getting Illinois’s economy back on its feet is…parks
• $100,000 for the Anderson Japanese Gardens for all costs associated with construction of a new pavilion
Governor Quinn’s capital bill digs Illinois into a $31 billion fiscal hole at a time the state can ill afford to take on additional debt. Far from being an investment in the state’s future, the bill’s expenditures are little more than a series of projects that at best should be postponed; at worst, they are simply handouts and earmarks. The state cannot afford to keep spending money it does not have—whether on regular appropriations or capital bills. Eventually, the bills will come due, and taxpayers will have to send more of their hard-earned money to government coffers.
