Lawmakers claimed the 2026 budget contained no pork, but 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.
By the look of the list, lots more tax money being spent on Schools over and above the normal-regular outrageous cost, a bunch of millions to not-for-profits that have little or no description of how the money will be used and no real explanation about who at the state will actually audit the use of this money. Which means they need to leave their offices and go unannounced to these recipients and see how our tax dollars are being used vs. simply emailing a form for the recipient to fill out and return. These “ear-marks” are nothing but payoffs laundered… Read more »
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
By the look of the list, lots more tax money being spent on Schools over and above the normal-regular outrageous cost, a bunch of millions to not-for-profits that have little or no description of how the money will be used and no real explanation about who at the state will actually audit the use of this money. Which means they need to leave their offices and go unannounced to these recipients and see how our tax dollars are being used vs. simply emailing a form for the recipient to fill out and return. These “ear-marks” are nothing but payoffs laundered… Read more »