The money issues in the state of Illinois has even affected the size of the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

Here's something you don't see every day.

On Sunday afternoon, I was driving on I-90 coming back to Rockford from Chicago and I noticed a strange but recognizable vehicle traveling down the road. It was the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

Even though I've seen the Weinermobile several times before, I still get excited. I think it's because I've always just run into by chance. The moment is never planned. Totally random.

The sighting was a little different this time. Something didn't seem right. I noticed the license plate said "LTL LINK," which stands for little link. Also, on the back of it in block letters read "Weiner Mini."

Then I figured it out. This wasn't the normal Weinermobile I've grown to love. It was a "Mini." A much smaller version.

I'm not going to lie. I felt cheated.

Had the money issues in the state of Illinois finally hit Oscar Mayer? Could they no longer afford to have the full-size edition? Were they forced to scale back in order to keep the program going?


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