Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

2,134 Page Bill Full of Appropriations

06/28/2010
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson At end of May, the Illinois General Assembly adjourned without addressing how to pay for the $6 billion in unpaid bills and required $3.7 billion pension payment for next year. But both houses did have time to pass House Bill 0859. The bill’s synopsis as introduced states that the bill: “Appropriates $1,000,000 from the General...

$873K for “Larger” Nuts and Bolts

06/24/2010
by Will Compernolle The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gave an $873,700.00 grant (#09-463009) in fiscal year 2009 to Unytite Inc.for “equipment that will enable the company to produce the larger nuts and bolts used in construction of wind turbines.” The DCEO’s grant tracker explains “these larger bolts (up to 48mm in diameter) are beyond...

Spotlight on Spending #4: Illinois State Energy Subsidies

By Chris Andriesen
06/23/2010
The Problem Illinois’s wealth of energy resources should be utilized to provide Illinois’s families and businesses with reliable sources of power. However, Illinois state government is unnecessarily picking winners and losers, distorting energy prices, and driving up overall government spending by awarding tax dollars to certain energy sectors via special government programs. For example, the...

Meat Factory Given Solar Energy by Taxpayers

06/22/2010
by Will Compernolle The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gave a $400,000 grant (#05-02206) in fiscal year 2005 to Solargenix Energy LLC to “provide solar thermal collectors to be installed on a meat packing factory roof.” According to the DCEO’s grant tracker, the grant is part of the Renewable Energy Resources Program, meant “to encourage utilization...

Taxpayers Fund High School Basketball Hall of Fame

06/21/2010
by Will Compernolle The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gave a $750,000 grant in fiscal year 2009 to the City of Pinckneyville to “construct a High School Basketball Hall of Fame and a Illinois Rural Heritage Museum.” The DCEO’s grant tracker says the grant (#09-240001) is part of The Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP). To find...

Taxpayers Give Boost to Daniel Burnham Film

06/16/2010
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gave over $83,000 in grants for costs associated with the production and showing of a film about Daniel Burnham.

$300K Given for Reenactment of Lincoln-Douglas Debate

06/15/2010
Our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, shows the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gave $300,000 in grants for costs associated with the sesquicentennial of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.