In his budget address before the Illinois Legislature on March 10th, Governor Patrick Quinnannounced his proposal to raise your income taxes by 33 percent instead of having state spending come in line with current state revenue. His original 2010 budget called for $31.5 billion in spending despite receiving only $27 billion in revenue. With unemployment at 11 percent, many Illinois lawmakers seem to be disconnected with reality.

Here are just a few examples of how state lawmakers are spending your tax dollars this fiscal year:

• 3 universities over $1,084,400,00;
• Mid-Continent University of Kentucky – $84,690;
• Ashford University of Iowa – $45,162;
• University of Colorado – $14,410;
• Diversifying Higher Ed Faculty – $1.4 million;
• Jewish Child & Family Services – $3,544,368;
• Chinese American Service League – $2,662,579;
• Asian Human Services of Chicago – $1,189,387;
• Minority AIDS/HIV Prevention & Outreach, AIDS Foundation, AIDS Hotline – $4,484,229;
• Women’s “health promotion” programs – $1,994,000;
• Easter Seals (Chicago & Joliet regions) – over $3 million;
• Prostate public awareness and screening – $1,497,000;
• Department of Human Services – $17,691,700 for “employability development”;
• Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity – $6,250,000 to “upgrade [workers] skills”;
• The Nature Conservancy – $104,271 (assets $4.6 billion in 2009);
• Quail Unlimited – $78,066;
• Chicago Horticultural Society – $71,579;
• Pheasants Forever – $61,312;
• Missouri Botanical Garden – $60,198;
• Iowa Oil Company – $12,945;
• Chicagoland Speedway (Joliet) – $200,000;
• Horseracing interests – $78,120,831;
• County fairs – $2,537,367;
• RTA – $33,570,000;
• Boeing – $1,168,427 (revenues of over $60 billion);
• $100 million to study and promote a 3rd Chicago area airport in Peotone and another $175 million to purchase private land for the airport;
• Town/County tourism and visitor bureaus – $8,943,196;
• 4 energy companies – $13,236,485;
• AFL-CIO Outreach – $1,370,000;
• AFL-CIO – $1,010,000;
• Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Company – $123,781,864 (owns McCormick Place & Navy Pier)

Others include wine producers; tea growers; fisheries; ethnic museums; affluent symphonies, theatres, film festivals, broadcasters, and art institutes; meat, ice cream, egg, ice and popcorn companies.

Why is it that politicians tell us that unless they raise our taxes they will need to cut school funding, health care and aid for the less fortunate when in fact they have other options? Why don’t they cut out wasteful spending?

IFI thanks the Illinois Policy Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste for this valuable research, which can be found on their web sites in a 34-page document titled 2010 Illinois Piglet Book.

In the end, we the people must hold our elected officials accountable for out-of-touch, out-of-control government spending.