Waste watch: Illinois spends $700K on decolonization activism
Illinois’ rushed, closed-door budgeting process funded $700,000 in taxpayer dollars to a research group promoting “decolonization.”
Illinois state lawmakers are putting $700,000 behind the Black Researchers Collective, an activist research group using taxpayer dollars to promote “racial equity in research.”
The Chicago nonprofit describes itself as a “collective of Black folx taking research to the streets.” They identify four main activities in which they engage: teaching Black Chicagoans how to analyze data to advance equity goals, paid consulting on how to help other researchers and organizations analyze data from a “decolonizing lens,” running blackresearcher.com to help Black academics and activists connect, and producing a podcast, “Research in the Streets,” which has not had an episode uploaded since 2023.
The $700,000 grant is for “operating expenses,” with no specific details of how the money will be used. That is more than the group’s total revenue of $491,221 in 2024, according to its IRS filing.
The Black Researchers Collective explicitly advocates for policies such as slavery reparations, founding a city-run bank to give cheap credit, guaranteed housing and free health care.
Why state lawmakers believe it is OK to use public tax dollars to support groups with political agendas is a mystery, with few details emerging from their quick actions at the tail end of budget negotiations. Taxpayers should at least know why one group is worthy of state investment versus another.
Illinois’ opaque budgeting process allows questionable spending to sneak its way into the budget. Lawmakers pass the budget in a rush, with little time for review or debate, and no requirement to justify or audit earmarks.
Although lawmakers claimed the 2026 budget contained no pork, a closer look shows 2,815 items over $200,000 lawmakers decided to fund in the final hours of the legislative session – rushed, harmful to taxpayers and with no time for public scrutiny.
The items include the Black Researchers Collective grant and $40 million for a sports complex at the alma mater of Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch.
Competitive grants with objective evaluation criteria and reporting requirements should be scored and tracked by a state agency to ensures the funds are allocated and used properly. These earmarks should be made public well in advance of the budget vote – not hidden so state lawmakers can foster a photo-op to bolster their reelection bids. Taxpayers should know why the money is being spent and what the public should expect in return for the support.
Illinois doesn’t need to funnel taxpayer dollars to activist groups. It needs to fix its broken budget system.
Reforms such as a state spending cap, mandatory public review periods and requiring detailed grant disclosures would help restore transparency and trust in Springfield.
Want to see the 2,815 earmarks and questionable spending state lawmakers put in this year’s budget? Use our look-up tool below.