|
 Public records reveal Obama spent in excess of $6 million on more than 100 projects he sponsored as a state senator, from literacy programs and park improvements to drill team uniforms and jazz appreciation events.
That spending covers just three of his nearly eight years in the Illinois Senate. State records don't show whether he requested projects in other years.
After repeated requests from The Associated Press for that information, Obama's presidential campaign said Thursday night that he made no other extra spending requests during the rest of his legislative career. What's shown in the public record is the only spending he added to the budget, the campaign said.
Along the way, the Chicago Democrat stopped inserting pet projects into the Illinois budget because he felt the system was getting out of hand.
"Obama has led the way on transparency as a candidate and will continue to do so in the White House as president," spokesman Bill Burton said.
Obama has criticized Democratic presidential rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for withholding spending information about her years in the U.S. Senate.
Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said Thursday that her position should prompt voters to "ask why she doesn't believe they have the right to know she wants to spend their tax dollars."
Since entering the U.S. Senate and launching his presidential campaign, Obama has made a political issue of openness.
He voluntarily discloses the "earmarks" he adds to the federal budget; Clinton does not. He initially only released one year's worth of earmark information, for 2007, but on Thursday he released his 2005 and 2006 requests, as well. Aides said he will not seek any earmarks this year.
"I have been consistently in favor of more disclosure around earmarks," Obama said in a debate last month. "Now, keep in mind a lot of these are worthy projects in our states ... but I want to make sure that they're not done in the dark of night."
That disclosure, however, so far applies only to federal spending.
[to top of second column] |
 When Obama served in the state Legislature, from 1997 until late 2004, it was routine for money to be added to the annual budget for lawmakers to dole out. In most years, this was done without any public record of who was sponsoring which grant, leaving no way to tell how Obama used his share of the money.
But for a few of those years, the state did link lawmakers and grants.
Records from that period show Obama sponsored a little more than $6 million in projects from 1999 through early 2002, when his campaign said he stopped making such requests.
Of that money, $2 million went to the Chicago Park District for projects ranging from adding or expanding parks to repairing fountains and building a running track.
Chicago schools got $5,000 and $10,000 grants to buy computers, improve security systems or offer new programs. The transportation department got $200,000 for new stoplights.
Private organizations got money, too.
Neighborhood groups in the South Side district he represented were given grants, typically $15,000 or $20,000, for such projects as senior centers, park improvements and teen mentoring programs.
Obama was one of several lawmakers to direct money to the South Shore Drill Team, which tries to keep poor children away from drugs and gangs by involving them in dance and music. Obama's grant to them was $25,000.
He also directed $100,000 to the Museum of Science and Industry for an exhibit on the nature of time, and provided two $5,000 grants for groups promoting jazz appreciation.
[Associated
Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
