Illinois holds its own in pork

WASHINGTON -- So much for trimming the pork.

The practice of decorating legislation with billions of dollars in pet projects and federal contracts is still thriving on Capitol Hill -- despite public outrage that helped flip control of Congress two years ago.

More than 11,000 of those "earmarks," worth nearly $15 billion in all, were slipped into legislation telling the government where to spend taxpayers' money this year, keeping the issue at the center of Washington's culture of money, influence and politics.

It's a pay-to-play sandbox where waste and abuse often obscure the good that earmarks can do.

With 21 members of Congress, Illinois has plenty of clout when it comes to bringing home the bacon.

For the current fiscal year, Illinois won at least $394.2 million in earmarks -- the money lawmakers carve out of the federal budget specifically for their constituents -- for everything from academic grants to museum programs to water treatment plants.

That ranks the state seventh overall and amounts to nearly $31 for every man, woman and child in Illinois, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a fiscal watchdog group.

The state delegation contends the overall figure is actually hundreds of millions more, since the estimate does not include earmarks spilling over state boundaries.

Illinois' leaders in distributing largesse are Rep. Ray LaHood, a Peoria Republican who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Dick Durbin of Springfield, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"In my hometown alone, we had a $400 million renovation of I-74 through downtown Peoria that took four years," LaHood recalled, citing how he could affect the lives of folks back home. "We had over 200 people working every day, four seasons of redoing, renovating I-74."

What might count most in getting extra funding is a lawmaker's stature in Washington, not how badly the money might be needed.

"They should not be based on political considerations," said Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., an often-frustrated Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee who represents Chicago. "There should be earmarks, but the priority of earmarks should be driven by a formula acknowledging chronic poverty."

Jackson is trying to get money for Ford Heights, which he says has been recognized as the nation's poorest suburb. But despite his role on a powerful committee, he said he can't be sure of getting the earmark.

"My constituents deserve hundreds of millions of dollars to fix their problems -- water mains, clean environment, fresh water, an airport," Jackson said. "If this was a need-driven process, I would be at the first of the line."

Durbin and LaHood often work together to land earmarks for Central Illinois, including in recent years when they got $40 million to help pay for a large share of Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

More recently, they worked together to get money for Caterpillar Inc., the Peoria-based manufacturing giant. LaHood secured $3.6 million last year to help Caterpillar -- which is in his district -- determine the prospects of the Army developing a combat vehicle with a better diesel engine.

For the current fiscal year, LaHood sought $2 million to extend the research, while Durbin pursued $5 million. A House-Senate compromise cut the earmark to about $3.2 million.

Now, Durbin and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama are working with Rep. Judy Biggert, a suburban Republican, to restore funding for the Argonne and Fermi national research labs that somehow disappeared amid talks between Senate and House negotiators.

"I was stunned," said Biggert, who previously relied upon the clout of now-retired Rep. Dennis Hastert to ensure Argonne and Fermi funding. "It threatens the whole U.S. competitiveness."

Durbin said he found it easier to win earmarks for Illinois under the last GOP-led Congress, when he had Hastert, who was speaker of the House, as an ally.

Durbin, working with other delegation members, got about $706 million in earmarks in fiscal 2006, the last full budget year under the reign of Hastert and his fellow House Republicans, according to the senator's spokesman, Joe Shoemaker. The figure has fallen with Democrats in control.

Even so, Durbin's influence on earmarks far exceeds that of other delegation members.

"I think I am in a good position to help our state, and I can tell you virtually everybody in the state comes to me -- from both parties, from all over the state," he said. "I think that's my responsibility and I'm able to help a lot of them. Not as many as I'd like."

Durbin's influence is likely to grow because some Illinois Republicans -- including Rep. Mark Kirk, who serves on an appropriations committee -- announced they will not seek any earmarks. They say earmarks represent too much wasteful spending.

Lawmakers like to argue that their earmarks do not add to the budget because they come from money that ultimately will be spent anyway.

"What it boils down to is this: the money coming back from Washington to help our state is money that we don't have to raise in property taxes and income taxes in Illinois," Durbin said. "I think it is good for us to get our fair share of federal dollars."

Kirk, who faces a costly re-election battle this fall, has a different view.

He says he has a better-off district, and cutting people's taxes would make his constituents happier than earmarks.

Bacon for Illinois

$394.2 million: Total of earmarks -- what lawmakers carve out of federal budget for their own constituents -- for Illinois this fiscal year.

$31: Earmark total divided by every man, woman and child in Illinois.

$706 million: Total in earmarks Sen. Dick Durbin, working with other Illinois legislators, got in fiscal 2006, the last full budget year under the reign of former Rep. Dennis Hastert and his fellow House Republicans.