Prairie State Wire

Democrats in Congress did not waste any time in hooking up liberal states after doing away with a moratorium on special funding projects, so-called “pork projects,” in which funding is funneled to special local projects. 

The Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) recently published its 2022 Congressional Pig Book which is the 30th edition of its exposé on pork-barrel spending. 

“Just in time for the 30th anniversary of the Congressional Pig Book, members of Congress overturned the 2011 earmark moratorium and formally restored them in fiscal year (FY) 2022,” the CAGW said in a release of the data. “On Feb. 26, 2021, House Democrats revived the practice, House Republicans agreed to restore them on March 17, 2021 and Senate Democrats followed suit on April 26, 2021. Senate Republicans voted to uphold the moratorium on April 21, 2021, but the agreement was nonbinding, and many of them received earmarks."

CAGW President Tom Schatz recommends "The 2022 Congressional Pig Book" as a must-read book that "shows why bringing back earmarks is a slap in the face to every taxpayer.” CAGW reported that "despite a futile attempt to cover them up by designating them as 'Community Project Funding,' the new earmarks are 'similar to the old earmarks that were included in the appropriations bills passed by Congress during FYs 2008-2010, which required that the names of the members who received earmarks be listed in each bill.'"  

"The new rules are as follows: Each member is allowed to request up to 10 projects; requests are posted online; a list of projects funded is published when the subcommittee or committee marked up a bill; for-profit entities are not eligible; and members certify that they, their spouse and their family have no financial interest in the project," according to CAGW.

Illinois was 29th on the list of states. Altogether the state was provided 238 earmarks worth a combined $303,931,700 and a per capita breakdown of $23.72 for every Illinoisan.

Established in 1984 by J. Peter Grace and Jack Anderson, CAGW is the legacy of President Ronald Reagan's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, also known as the Grace Commission. It "is a 501(c)(3) private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing more than 1 million members and supporters nationwide. CAGW works to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in government through research and public education activities," according to its website.

Illinois 5th Congressional District Rep. Michael Quigley requested quite a few of the earmarks.