South Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham) does not know which is worse: politicians who don't know any better, or those who know better but just don't care.

The topic came up when the newly elected Republican state representative in the 107th District was discussing a $60 million commitment from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's recently passed capital spending plan for arts programs across the state. Wilhour told the South Central Reporter that such a budgetary decision tells you everything you need to know about the Illinois government's dysfunction.

“It speaks directly to biggest problems we have in the state of Illinois,” Wilhour said in an interview. “Politicians don’t prioritize their spending very well. Those basically are luxury spending items. When we have billions of dollars in our backload of bills, billions in pension debt and a $41 billion budget that we can’t afford, those are things we don’t need to be funding.”

Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham)

While the $60 million is just a small fraction of the overall $45 billion budget, Wilhour said it’s symbolic of Springfield’s frivolous nature.

“I've got a feeling that if you look very hard into where that money is going, it’s probably more politically connected than what you would think,” he said. “I think Speaker (Mike) Madigan’s wife is probably receiving a pretty sizable portion of that, and that’s just wrong. It’s indicative of how Illinois politicians do business. It’s been a long-standing trend that we’re trying to combat.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Arts Council, where Shirley Madigan chairs the board of directors, will oversee the decision-making of at least $50 million of the funds that are to be disbursed through the capital projects program. The other $10 million will go toward line-item grants, where the recipients of the monies have already been designated.

“Illinois politicians refuse to deal with real issues,” Wilhour said. “I don’t know if they’re blind to them or they just don’t care. For at least five years running, we’ve led the nation in exodus and people’s biggest reason for leaving are higher taxes and lack of opportunity.”