Research Briefing

Stimulus Funds Wasted In Illinois As Jobs Continue To Be Lost

STIMULUS FAILURE BY THE NUMBERS: JOBS CONTINUE TO BE LOST IN THE LAND OF LINCOLN  

Since The Stimulus Was Passed Last February, Over 143,000 Jobs Have Been Lost In Illinois. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

Unemployment Has Increased By Over 29 Percent In Illinois. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

Unemployment Rate Has Jumped From 8.6 Percent To 11.1 Percent. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

AND ILLINOIS IS NO STRANGER TO STIMULUS WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE

Cost-Of-Living Adjustments Being Counted As Jobs In Illinois. “Hilary Freeman, vice president of quality and performance at the society, said 34 employees got cost-of-living adjustments from stimulus funds. But that’s been counted as 34 jobs created or saved.” (James Janega, “Billions In Stimulus Cash For Illinois, But Jobs Harder To Quantify,” The Chicago Tribune, 11/24/09)

Millions Of Stimulus Dollars Were Sent To Phantom Congressional Districts. “According to the people in charge of the Recovery Act, 2.5 jobs were saved in the 59th Congressional District of Illinois… We also experienced some job saving relief from the feds in the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 44th and District 00… The 22nd received almost $2 million.  Let's thank the elected officials who represent those districts.  Anybody know who they are?” (Jerry Agar, “Districts Saved Or Created In Illinois,” Illinois Policy Institute, 11/17/09)

$78,125 In Stimulus Funds Was Used To Create Just 0.01 Of A Job In Illinois. (“Grants – Award Summary: Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Recovery.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

Biden Held Chicago Factory Up As “Poster Child” For Green Stimulus Jobs, But Few Jobs Have Been Created. “Vice President Biden visited the factory in April, holding it up as a poster child for green jobs created by the $787 billion stimulus act. … But months after Serious Materials chief executive Kevin Surace planned to be churning out windows, the factory still has very few customers and has hired back fewer than 20 workers. In fact, Surace said the company is spending $100,000 a week just to keep the factory open.” (Kari Lydersen, “Stimulus Funds Yet To Open Many Windows,” The Washington Post, 10/18/09)

Obama Pet Project Received $1 Billion In Stimulus Funds. “Earmarks? Perhaps not. But funding for FutureGen? Absolutely, to the tune of $1 billion. …But others say that’s a distinction without a difference -- that FutureGen is merely an earmark by another name, a project that had powerful patrons, funding straight out of the stimulus bill and requirements for the money targeted so narrowly that only a few projects would fit the bill.” (Eamon Javers, “Stimulus Serves Up Obama Pork,” Politico, 6/16/09)

• After It Was Removed In Original Stimulus Legislation. “Remember when we told you about the Senate's attempt to sneak in a $2 billion earmark for FutureGen, the Illinois ‘clean coal’ plant? That's been zeroed out in the final stimulus pact… As strange as this sounds, score one for Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).” (Elana Schor, “FutureGen 'Clean Coal' Earmark Removed From Stimulus,” Talking Points Memo, 2/12/09)