For Immediate Release November 20, 2012

Contact:  Leslie K. Paige 202-467-5334 Luke Gelber 202-467-5318

CAGW and Illinois Policy Institute Release 2012 Illinois Piglet Book

(Chicago) – In this week for giving thanks, Illinoisans may want to spare a moment of gratitude for the money that their state-level politicians have allowed them to keep. The rest, if the findings of the 2012 Illinois Piglet Book are any indication, is being squandered at an alarming rate. The 2012 Piglet Book, released today by the Illinois Policy Institute in collaboration with Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), is a compendium of nearly 200 examples totaling more than $354 million of wasteful government spending in Illinois. It sheds light on the decisions of politicians who have lost sight of the core services they were put in place to provide.

“Every dollar of wasteful spending we highlight in Piglet 2012 will be justified by Illinois lawmakers,” said John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute. “Keep that in mind because at the same time they are choosing to spend on these wasteful programs, poor and disadvantaged Medicaid patients are being turned away from receiving health care services because the state can’t pay its bills. Wasteful spending is immoral and must stop.”

The ridiculous examples of taxpayer-funded spending projects in Illinois include:

• $9,941 for bobblehead toys for the Springfield Park District.
• $20,489 for Swine-time Pig Racing in Rock County.
• $200,000 to Shawnee Fluffs Canopy Tour, Inc. for the development of “eco-friendly customized zip lines” in Williamson County.
• $2,000,000 in TIF funds to create a vacant lot in the village of Schaumburg.
• $2,261,009 for the Illinois Department of Corrections’ cable television bill.

“The infuriating waste highlighted by the 2012 Illinois Piglet Book is undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to taxpayer dollars being wasted by Illinois’ state and local governments,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “In a state where the government has been declared ‘essentially insolvent’ by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, it is imperative that all of the frivolous spending highlighted by Piglet 2012 be cut immediately.”

The Illinois Policy Institute is a nonpartisan research and education organization dedicated to making Illinois a beacon for liberty and prosperity for all citizens. As a leading voice for economic liberty and government accountability, the Institute engages policy makers, opinion leaders and citizens on the state and local level by promoting free market principles and liberty-based public policy initiatives for a better Illinois. To learn more about the Institute visit illinoispolicy.org.