Providing entertainment may seem like a far cry from an essential government service, but not in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) doles out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in grants each year. Funding entertainment is one of the many ways in which this money is used.
The 2012 Illinois Piglet Book exposes some of the most outrageous ways in which the DCEO uses taxpayer dollars. Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour Inc., for example, received $200,000 for the development of “eco-friendly customized zip lines.”
