$600,000 worth of projects and grants are detailed in a list of member initiatives received from State Representative Mike Tryon’s office.
Governor Rod Blagojevich has announced he will veto the money, which he calls pork, and divert it to his health care play for illegal aliens, among others, but has not filed the necessary paperwork.
I thought it was supposed to be $650,000, but House Republican Leader Tom Cross apparently took $50,000 from each member’s share. It will be interesting to see where that shows up, if the governor’s vetoes are overridden.
These are items inserted in the Illinois state budget for the current budget year.
Some call them “pork.” Congress calls them “earmarks.” In Illinois, General Assembly members call them “member initiatives.”
Whatever they are called, I’ll bet the recipient governments and agencies are grateful.
STATE REP. MICHAEL W. TRYON
MEMBER INITIATIVE GRANTS
$ 75,000 – Grafton Township Building Relocation program
$ 50,000 – Nunda Township Non-dedicated road fund
$ 75,000 – Algonquin Township Non-dedicated road fund
$ 20,000 – Crystal Lake Library District – technology and software
$ 5,000 – Cary Library District technology and software
$ 12,500 – Huntley Library District – technology and software
$100,000 – The Advantage Group – Drug and Alcohol rehab
$ 45,000 – Lake in the Hills Parks Dept. – Sunset Park expansion and completion
$ 12,500 – Algonquin Library District technology and software
$ 75,000 – Lakeside Legacy Foundation – building renovation for historic preservation$ 10,000 – McHenry County Senior Services
$ 10,000 – Turning Point – domestic violence agency
$100,000 – Pioneer Center for Human Services – 2 vans and senior care program
$ 10,000 – Family Alliance, Inc. – senior mental health programs
TOTAL: $600,000
Cross match these against the McHenry County budget items I found in the state budget and you can guess that either Jack Franks, Mark Beaubien, Pam Althoff or Bill Peterson is responsible for the other line items.
The only other legislator who has published his line items or allowed them to be published is Chicago’s State Rep. John Fritchey. He did it on Illinoize and his blog, which he calls ” Rep. John Fritchey’s Open House.”
Fritchey, incidentally, has a convoluted theory of how Blagojevich could reorganize state government and somehow take the money legislators earmarked.
= = = = =
This January 7th picture is of Crystal Lake’s Dole Mansion, which is owned by the Lakeside Legacy Foundation. It will receive $75,000 for building rehabilitation and preservation.