Illinois Policy’s Adam Schuster on Government Waste

An Illinois Policy study found $81 million in wasteful spending in the most recent state budget.

Gambling, golf and butterflies sit higher on state politicians’ priority list than solving Illinois’ ever-growing fiscal crisis and budget deficit. That’s according to a new Illinois Policy Institute report, which reviewed the state’s more than 1,200-page spending plan for 2019 to discover $54.2 million in wasteful spending and $27.1 million in politically motivated special projects.

We invited Adam Schuster, Illinois Policy's Director of Budget and Tax Research, who's also one of the authors of the report (along with Alec Mena and Travis Nix), to give us a look at some of ways your tax dollars are being sent down the drain:

Click here to read Illinois Policy's full report on Illinois' wasteful spending.