Governor’s DC Office Expenses

The Governor spent over $100K on rent and other expenses for his DC office.

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in fiscal year 2009 (up to the time of our FOIA request), the Governor’s Office spent $104,188.63 on rent to the State Services Organization in Washington, DC. During that time frame, the Governor’s Office also paid the SSO $5,911.36 for parking, $3,391.44 for telephone charges, $457.34 for “N/A,” and $232 for internet. The total of these charges and rent comes to $114,180.77.

According to the State Services Organization website, the SSO “manages the 225,000 square feet of office space that make up the Hall of States.” The Hall of States is “located just blocks from the U.S. Capitol and Union Station” and “is home to many Washington offices of the fifty states, U.S. territories and associations of state officials.”

To find these expenditures on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to “Checks to Businesses & People” and enter “State Services Organization” into the vendor field. To download the data, click on the CSV or Excel icon below the search results.