Work on Industrial Arts Glass Studio Costs Illinois Taxpayers $71k
by Wesley Fox According to the Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityGrant Tracker website, the Little Black Pearl Workshop received a $71,000 grant to help complete the industrial arts glass studio, located at 1060 East 47th Street in Chicago. Specifically the funds were to be “used to complete the installation of a hood and exhaust system...
by Wesley Fox
According to the Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityGrant Tracker website, the Little Black Pearl Workshop received a $71,000 grant to help complete the industrial arts glass studio, located at 1060 East 47th Street in Chicago. Specifically the funds were to be “used to complete the installation of a hood and exhaust system in the glass studio.” (Grant #09-203038)
According to the Little Black Pearl website, its mission “is to create opportunities for youth and adults to deepen their creative involvement through the arts, cultivate their entrepreneurial skills and use the arts as a means for economic empowerment and community transformation.”
The grant was part of the DCEO’s Grant Management Program, which provides grants “for specific purposes to bolster the State’s economy, promote a clean environment and improve the overall quality of life throughout the State of Illinois.” How does an industrial art studio improve the overall quality of life in Illinois or bolster the state’s economy? This sounds like another example of poor spending of taxpayers’ money by the DCEO and highlights, again, why Illinois is 48th in economic performance and 47th in economic outlook compared to the other states.
To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to “Checks to Businesses & People,” under the “Department” section search “Commerce and Economic Opportunity,” under the “Vendor” section search “Little Black Pearl Workshop.”