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 Illinois motorists over Independence Day weekend were greeted
with higher prices at the pump.
The driving cause? Illinois’ gas tax, which doubled overnight, making
Illinoisans subject to the highest state and local gas tax burden in the
Midwest. This will cost the average driver around $100 more per year.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has defended that gas tax hike as necessary to repair roads,
bridges and highways that are “falling apart.”
Illinoisans deserve a pothole-free future. But are they getting a bang for their
gas tax buck? Or is Pritzker’s $45 billion “Rebuild Illinois” program just
another vehicle to deliver special favors?
A deep dive into the capital plan points toward the latter, showing at least
$1.25 billion in pork-barrel projects.
“Pork” is often used as a buzzword. But it’s important to understand what it
really means. Pork-barrel spending is made up of those special projects injected
by lawmakers to bring home the bacon for their constituents. And when embarking
on a massive new capital plan, it’s exactly the behavior experts warn against.
Pritzker’s plan “shows no evidence of comprehensive planning to prioritize
projects,” according to the nonpartisan Civic Federation. Lack of good budgeting
basics, such as focusing on infrastructure maintenance over flashy ribbon
cuttings, is exactly how Illinois ended up with its current infrastructure
problems.
Here are just a few examples of pork in the new capital plan:
The state will spend $98 million on noise abatement at the Chicago Belt Railway
Yard in Bedford Park, which happens to be in the suburban portion of House
Speaker Mike Madigan’s district.
The Illinois Arts Council, chaired by Madigan’s wife Shirley, will get $50
million in capital plan funds.
Rush University Medical Center, part of a private health system with annual
revenues of $2.4 billion, will receive a $14 million grant from Illinois
taxpayers.
The state will send $50 million in capital plan grants to parks and recreational
units for improvements, such as pickleball courts. The Chicago Park District
will receive $15 million for a new field house at Jackie Robinson Park.
 Taxpayers will float $5 million to Northwestern University to purchase new
science equipment. The private university boasts an endowment of $11 billion.
In a state with solid fiscal footing, some of these projects might make sense.
But Illinois’ debt problem is the worst in the nation. Leaders have to make
tough choices about nice-to-haves versus need-to-haves.
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And keep in mind, this is just the pork that’s out
in the open.
The capital bill also sends hundreds of millions of dollars into the
abyss.
For example, it includes $580 million across 42
separate appropriations to the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity for “grants to local governments, school districts and
community-based providers for costs associated with infrastructure
improvements.”
Part of these secretive grants will fund “member initiatives” –
otherwise known as slush funds for lawmakers’ pet projects. Politico
Illinois reported Senate Democrats will receive $6 million for
projects in their districts and Senate Republicans will receive $3
million, while the split in the House is $3 million to $1.5 million.
So along with putting specific line items of pork in the capital
budget, Pritzker went direct-to-consumer.
This sort of political waste isn’t surprising.
The hometown of Pritzker, Madigan and Senate President John
Cullerton does the same thing each year. Instead of letting city
agencies make strategic planning decisions, each city alderman is
gifted $1.3 million in “menu money” to play with as each wishes.
Meanwhile, the pain of the tax hikes to fund this behavior is all
too real. Beyond the average Illinois family seeing their wallets
squeezed, small businesses are facing dire consequences.
Pravin Patel runs a gas station located just a stone’s throw from
the Wisconsin border in South Beloit, Illinois. He told the Rockford
Register-Star he’s already taking home $2,000 less per day in
gasoline sales.
And the gas tax hike wasn’t the only new cost imposed by the capital
bill. Illinois drivers will face one of the highest fees in the
nation for their license plate stickers. In January, standard
vehicles weighing 8,000 pounds or less will see registration fees
jump to $148 from $98. All other large vehicles, including trailers
and buses, will see registration fee increases of $100.
Pritzker’s capital plan has lawmakers proving once again that
they’re not willing to reform the way Springfield spends taxpayer
money.
They’re not willing to give taxpayers basic transparency.
And they’re not willing to take an objective look at project
selection.
Voters deciding on a $3.4 billion progressive income tax hike in
November should take note.
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