$2,821 of Hot Sauce Bought By YOUR Illinois Taxes

December 8, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Liberals, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

Kate Campigne Piercy, director of government reform for the Illinois Policy Institute, recently penned an interesting piece for The Chicago Sun Times that informed us all that the Illinois Commerce Dept. bought $2,821 worth of Hot Sauce during fiscal year 2009.

That’s not all, either.

What’s the need for a typewriter in a computer-centric world? The Illinois Employment Security Department spent $245.80 on a Brother ML100 Typewriter — in addition to $12,176.54 on a Canon Microfilm/ Fiche Printer.

The governor’s office shelled out $20,692.24 on “subscriptions.” The Commerce Department spent $3,770 for golf carts, $280 on soy crayons and $2,821 on hot sauce –all with Illinois citizens’ tax dollars. That must be some good hot sauce.

The good news is… well, some good news, anyway… we can now go to a new website where we can view these wastes of the taxpayer’s money so that we can have the ammunition we need to eliminate this wild spending and hold the politicians responsible to account.

A new site has been created named www.illinoisopengov.org. There the Illinois Policy Institute features all sorts of studies on state spending and other resources. There you can search the 2008 state employee payroll, and checks written to businesses & people, and 2009 state retiree pensions records.

Illinois has traditionally been one of the most corrupt states in the Union, but here we have a tool that can begin to bring transparency to our arcane State spending habits.

At www.illinoisopengov.org you’ll find reports that reveal that…

The Governor’s Mansion spent $404.21 on bed sheets
Illinois incurred $2,676,335 in interest payments because of late fees to vendors
The Dept. of Public Health spent $308,000 on a “liaison for a Fusion Center”… whatever the heck THAT is!
DOT spent $405,065 on “association dues”
Governor’s office spent $4,800 on Comcast Cable services
Governor’s office spent $199.58

There is, of course, much more there. This is a very worth while resource that all sorts of people, from journalists to regular folk, to hold government accountable.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson

Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, TheRealityCheck.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, and the New Media Journal, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com.

He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

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