House budget full of pork

State politicians are in Springfield right now voting on budget bills that call for spending $3 billion more than the state will take in from income tax revenues. These budget bills are fraught with wasteful spending. Here are some examples: House Bill 6149 would appropriate a total of $1.8 billion from the General Revenue Fund...

State politicians are in Springfield right now voting on budget bills that call for spending $3 billion more than the state will take in from income tax revenues.

These budget bills are fraught with wasteful spending.

Here are some examples:

• House Bill 6149 would appropriate a total of $1.8 billion from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or DCEO, for spending including:
  • $15 million for the Summer Jobs for Youth Program
  • $5.5 million for the Illinois Office of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology
  • $2.5 million for DCEO technology-based programs
  • $2 million for the Office of Trade and Investment
  • $750,000 for the African American Family Commission
  • $250,000 for the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association
  • $1.2 million for Agudath Israel of Illinois for school transportation
  • $11 million for DCEO operations
• House Bill 6024 calls for $500,000 from the Education Assistance Fund for the Loan Repayment for Teachers Program. The goal of this program is to: “Encourage academically talented Illinois students to teach in Illinois schools in low-income areas and to enter the early child care profession and serve in low-income areas in Illinois.”

This bill would also provide $2.5 million for minority teacher scholarships and $6.6 million to Golden Apple Scholars, a nonprofit.

• House Bill 6145 would provide more than $10 million from the General Revenue Fund for the Illinois Arts Council to be spent as follows:

• $2 million for public radio/TV
• $417,000 for Illinois Humanities Council
• $1 million for performing arts
• $5 million for grants
• $1.6 million for operations

• House Bill 6069 would provide $1 million from the General Revenue Fund to pay for the expenses of implementing the medical cannabis program.

• The combined budget bills would appropriate more than $20 million in travel, printing and auto costs:

• $10.5 million in travel-related expenses
• $2.8 million in printing expenses
• $7.4 million for auto-related expenses
• House Bill 6152 would appropriate $2.6 million for costs associated with Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, and $1.7 million for DuQuoin Building and Grounds. This bill would also appropriate $456,000 for the detection, eradication and control of exotic pests, such as the Asian Long-Horned Beetle and Gypsy Moth.
• House Bill 6151 would appropriate $572,900 from the General Revenue Fund for the governor and Vito Marzullo’s internship programs, as well as $3,500 for awards and expenses of the Employee Suggestion Board. This bill would also appropriate $81,000 for nurses’ tuition.
• House Bill 6156 would appropriate nearly $18 million from the General Revenue Fund as follows:
  • $12.5 million for grants to library systems
  • $225,000 grants to qualified school libraries
  • $35,000 in library technology grants
  • $3.7 million to literacy programs
  • $1.2 million for a special grant to the Chicago Public Library
  • $200,000 in a special grant to fund a bookmobile program at Elgin’s Gail Borden Library District

This bill would also provide the General Assembly with:

• $20,603,400 is given to legislative leadership for staff this year. The fiscal year 2014 estimated expenditure was approximately $17.6 million
• Senate President John Cullerton would receive $5.1 million for leadership staff. Last year, Cullerton got $4.1 million
• $88,100 for legislator travel
• $113,700 for Senate expenses incurred as part of the Capitol Complex renovations of Senate offices
• House Bill 6091 would appropriate $15 million from the General Revenue Fund for grants to state and local agencies, and community providers for at-risk community support programs.
• House Bill 6090 would authorize nearly $3 million in “military affairs” spending:
  • $2.8 million for Lincoln’s Challenge, up from last year’s $2.2 million appropriation
  • $7,400 for the care of historical artifacts
• House Bill 6027 would allocate $70,000 from the General Revenue Fund for the Daily Egyptian, Southern Illinois University’s school newspaper.
• House Bill 6071 would appropriate more than $9 million from the General Revenue Fund for aging programs as follows:
  • $300,000 for the expenses of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program
  • $26,000 for the Illinois Council on Aging
  • $190,300 for the Senior Employment Specialist Program
  • $7.7 million in grants to Area Agencies on Aging
  • $241,400 to the Foster Grandparent Program
  • $551,800 to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program
• House Bill 6084 would provide more than $18 million from the General Revenue Fund as follows:
  • $528,300 for the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council Program, which received $154,600 in fiscal year 2013
  • $4.4 million for Operation CeaseFire, which received $0 in fiscal year 2013. Later on, there is an extra $1.8 appropriation to Operation CeaseFire for: Rockford, Springfield, Peoria, Rock Island, South Suburban Cook County, and Metro East (Belleville and Alton).
  • $1.2 million to Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center for a Methamphetamine Pilot Program, which received $0 in 2014
  • $100,000 grant to the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, which received $97,000 in fiscal year 2014
  • $650,000 for Bullying Prevention, which is much more than the $264,900 recommended by the governor for fiscal year 2015 (what they received last year)
  • $10 million to after-school programs.The governor’s recommended budget put this at $0 for fiscal year 2015. They got $0 last year.
• House Bill 6035 would appropriate $1.49 million for higher education faculty diversity and  $1.5 million for the Grow Your Own Teachers Program.