 The Illinois Policy Institute has released the "2010 Piglet Book,"
which details what the group calls millions of dollars in wasteful
spending.The institute's Christina Rasmussen said funding for
parks, parking lots, theaters and even Amtrak makes the pork list.
Those projects are in Illinois' $31 billion capital bill, which pays
for everything from new roads, bridges and schools to long-neglected
or newly planned local projects.
Rasmussen said it's a matter of priorities, and she thinks
Illinois can ill afford some of the priorities in the massive
building plan.
"We're having trouble paying for core government services and we
really need to prioritize," she said. "The needs come before the
wants."
Rasmussen said lawmakers need to look for private dollars before
they rely on public dollars. David Williams with Citizens Against
Government Waste said lawmakers need to be more responsible with tax
money.
"We've seen that these (projects) are very distracting to getting
the core business of government done. ... When you are consumed with
making sure that the dance theater in your district gets $100,000,
you're not looking at the bigger picture of what's important for the
state," he said.
But lawmakers and local leaders argue that the local spending in
the capital bill is responsible and often brings back much more than
the original investment.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, takes issue with the report,
which classifies $175,000 for the village of Normal for the Connie
Link Amphitheater as pork.
"It's a quality-of-life issue that I look at. And every time I
pass the park ... there are hundreds and thousands throughout the
summer that enjoy the park, and they pay taxes last I checked," he
said.
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Tim Dimke, executive director at the Rockford Park District, said
his local improvement, which is in line for state dollars, will make
money. Dimke said the Sportscore I and Sportscore II facilities are
slated to receive $275,000 but will return $21 million to Rockford.
"If (state government) were to put 100 percent into just core
services, we're really depriving our own citizens of the quality of
life ... that they need to enjoy their lives. The second thing is
the amount (the IPI is talking about). They're getting three times
that back just in tax revenues on an annual basis," he said.
Dimke added that with Rockford's jobless troubles, more people
may end up out of work. State Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, said that's
why he's happy to see the city of Galena receive money for a new
city park. The "Piglet" book labeled the $67,000 to the city of
Galena for Gateway Park land acquisition as a waste.
Bivins said it's an investment in Galena's lifeblood: tourism.
"Every area has different needs. You know Galena (is) different
than Freeport. There are a lot of (capital bill) projects that
included sewer and water, roads, buildings and a variety of things
that are important to those communities," he said.
Rasmussen and the institute said the book is not a hit list
against specific projects or lawmakers, but rather a tool to
highlight the state's fiscal situation.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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