Illinois has money for entertainment, but not vital services 

Fallout Boy got paid. So did Styx. So did The Fray and all of the other artists who performed at the Grandstand during the Illinois State Fair this year.

How did that happen when Illinois isn’t paying social service providers for important functions like mental health treatment? The Illinois Department of Agriculture simply says the fair is required by law, but the department appears to have spent that money in defiance of state law.

Four months into Illinois’ 2016 fiscal year, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature have yet to agree on a budget. Although the legislature approved several budget bills, Rauner vetoed most of them, saying the legislature’s budget is unbalanced and demanding that lawmakers pass measures from his anti-union “Turnaround Agenda” as part of the budget process.

The state budget is made up of “appropriations,” which are earmarks authorizing the various bodies of state government to spend money. Unless there’s a court order in effect requiring the state to pay for a certain program, the lack of an appropriation for a program amounts to cutting that program.

Among the budget bills Rauner vetoed in June was the one authorizing spending for the State Fair. In total, Rauner vetoed more than $8.2 million in funding for the fair.

Asked how the Illinois Department of Agriculture justifies spending money on the fair when the bill authorizing it was vetoed, spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said state law mandates that the department hold the fair to promote agriculture.

“We carried out this mandate with the intent of paying bills when there is a budget,” she said. “To date, only entertainment expenses have been paid, and in the absence of a budget all other vendors will see delayed payments for services rendered during the 2015 Illinois State Fair.”

The Grandstand acts at the Illinois State Fair are paid through an “imprest account” – a temporary loan of sorts from the Illinois comptroller’s office which is later repaid with ticket revenue from the shows. However, state law appears to require an appropriation for the imprest account, saying, “The amount transferred from any fund shall not exceed the appropriation for each specific purpose.”

Was the imprest account authorized without a state budget in place? Clark referred that question to the office of the Illinois state comptroller.

Rich Carter, a spokesman for Illinois Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, said the Department of Agriculture would have determined for itself whether the account was authorized.

“The agencies make the determination on authorization and then send us a voucher for payment,” he said. “We can’t pay anything without a voucher.”

Additionally, the contracts for the Grandstand acts contain a rider from the Department of Agriculture stating that the department “may terminate or suspend this contract … if sufficient state funds have not been appropriated to the department….”

The fair as a whole is paid for using money from the Illinois State Fair Fund, which is fed by revenue from the previous year’s fair. However, state law appears to demand authorization to spend money from that fund for the fair. According to the State Fair Act, the money in the fair fund “shall be used by the Department of Agriculture in accordance with appropriation ...”

Asked if anyone in the Department of Agriculture examined whether an appropriation was required to hold the fair, Clark responded “The department is mandated by state statute to hold the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair as a way to promote agriculture in the state.”

Asked whether Rauner or someone from his office gave verbal or written direction to hold the fair, Clark again responded, “The department is mandated by state statute to hold the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair as a way to promote agriculture in the state.”

The Department of Agriculture isn’t the only state agency spending money without an appropriation. So far this fiscal year, the state has spent more than $21.6 billion, which includes court-ordered expenditures and appropriated spending, but also things like association dues, computer software, rental equipment, telephone service and more. The state’s procurement website shows several bid solicitations posted recently for things like batteries, radar guns, software, auction services, file cabinets and more.

Additionally, hiring at state agencies continues despite the lack of a budget. More than 1,000 people have been hired by state agencies since the start of the fiscal year to be assistants, technicians, secretaries, mental health workers, analysts and more.

Meanwhile, the Rauner administration has cut off funds to child care providers, mental health facilities, home care for people with disabilities and more. The Illinois State Museum system was also closed to the public in September – ostensibly to save money – although union employees were told to continue working while a legal challenge over layoffs is resolved.

Contact Patrick Yeagle at [email protected].