Chambana Sun

Illinois’ spending plan is fraught with roughly $100 million in wasteful spending at a time when some lawmakers are pushing for even more tax increases, an Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) report details.

Given all the dysfunction in Springfield, Republican House candidate Dan Caulkins said the only thing he finds surprising about the report is that the numbers aren’t higher.

“I’m surprised it’s only $100 million,” Caulkins told Chambana Sun. “You would think it would be at least four times more when you consider how far off we’ve gotten from concentrating on the things we should be. The whole process in Springfield has broken down. If the state is ever really going to have a balanced budget, having an honest spending plan, without gimmicks or games, would be a real starting point.”

IPI identified line items such as $13.1 million for an arts council chaired by the wife of House Speaker Mike Madigan and pork projects that include $10 million to rehabilitate Chicago’s privately owned Uptown Theatre as some of the budget’s biggest abuses.

The spending comes at a time when state taxpayers are already saddled with the second highest property tax rates in the country and residents pay one of the highest combined tax burdens in the country.

“The only thing left to do is the right thing,” said Caulkins, running against Democrat Jen McMillin in the 101st District. “Not only are all these taxes and all this wasteful spending unfair to taxpayers it’s also ruining this state.”

In each of the last four years, Illinois has seen a dip in population and a recent Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield and NPR Illinois survey found more than half of residents across the state have considered leaving Illinois because of taxes.

The 101st House District spans parts of Champaign, DeWitt, Macon, McLean and Piatt counties.