Friday, June 20, 2014

Little Hens on the Prairie: The further hilarious adventures of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

The Wall Street Journal mocks Illinois:
Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner performed a public service last week by highlighting some of Springfield's wasteful spending. For example, $181,730 to fly in chickens on state aircraft from Kansas. After they drive out taxpayers, maybe liberals are intending to return Illinois to its native prairie state.

According to an AP report, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources spent $7,363 this spring on 16 flights for 91 endangered greater prairie chickens, or about $81 a bird. Do the chickens qualify for frequent-flier miles? The three-year relocation program is funded by $337,500 in federal grants, $181,730 in state revenues and a $30,000 donation by the Audubon Society. About 60% of the money pays for personnel who transport the birds. In other words, this is more a support program for government workers than for endangered species.

Governor Pat Quinn's office defended the program by noting that the state share comes out of recreational fees paid by hunters, not general tax revenues, as if state funds weren't fungible. The program's putative goal is to restore the state's greater prairie chicken population to more than 300 from about 70.
Barack Obama's Illinois.