The Department of Commerce spent $38,201.77 to cater food and rent rooms for events in 2008. The most expensive event was the Governor's Hometown Awards for which the catering cost $14,100.03. In addition to paying $13,590.82 to Pinnacle Limited the state paid $509.21 to Conns Inc for providing catering services for this event.
You can find this spending yourself by going to "Checks to Businesses & People" and searching for "catering for 2008 Governor's hometown awards," "catering of breakfast&lunch for governo's hometown" and "catering of breakfast for govnor's hometown awards" in the category of spending section.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent over $5,000 on "state plane rental" in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, the total for these charges equaled $4,194 and by the time of our FOIA request in 2009 the total came to $1,092. The vendor for all the charges was "Air Transportation Rev Fund."
To find these charges on IllinoisOpenGov.org, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and scroll down "Category of Spending" to "state plane rental." The figures in the table may be slightly different than those on the website due to rounding. To see the data used below, download the results of the "state plane rental" search by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon below the results.
In 2008 and 2009, the State of Illinois paid the United States Postal Service $2,067,117.60 in total. The table below breaks down the payments by department. In 2008 and 2009, the department with the largest payments to USPS was the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, spending more than $460,000 and $596,000. In 2009, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and Department on Aging each spent more than $100,000 for products and services from the USPS. Many of the charges are what one would expect, such as "postage and postal charges," bulk meter permits, business reply permits, and rental charges for P.O. boxes. But there are also some charges with vague descriptions such as "contractual services" and "prof & artistic services."
To find these entries on the IllinoisOpenGov.org site, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and type in "U S Postal Service" and "US Postal Service" in the vendor field. The data on the site may appear slightly different than the data in the table below due to rounding. To see the data used in the table, download the search results by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon below the results.
In 2009, the Department of Commerce paid the National Energy Foundation in Salt Lake City, Utah $1,545 for the "Printing of Renewable Energy Sources Posters." The National Energy Foundation "provides curriculum, training and materials that promote a better understanding of energy, natural resources, and the environment."
The Renewable Energy Sources Poster "shows the many sources of renewable energy, including biomass, passive and active solar energy, photovoltaics..." At $4 each the Department of Commerce purchased over 350 of these posters.
You can find this spending yourself by going to "Checks to Businesses & People" and searching for "National Energy Foundation" in the vendor section.
Last week, there was a blog on how "cash requests" from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity could be made more transparent since the spending description was limited to the form: "Cash Request From [date] Grant Number [number]," which gives very little information on what the money is being spent on.
To get a better idea of where the grant money is going, I've compiled the grant recipients for 2008 and summed the amount given to each recipient. The table below lists the 50 largest grant recipients in 2008. There were 681 total grant recipients and $119,441,028.84 in total grant payouts in 2008. The 50 largest recipients received a total of $83,745,582.13, or 70.1% of the total grant payouts for 2008.
This data is a bit more time consuming to find than most searches on the database due to the format of the spending descriptions. The easiest way to see the data used in the table below is go to "Checks to Businesses & People", select "Department of Commerce" under "Department" and click go. Download the search results by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon below the search results (note: you must have Excel 2007 or greater to download the full results due to Excel limitations). Once the file is downloaded, you can easily sort the data to see all the "Cash Requests."
In 2008, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $9,271.86 to reimburse travel expenses for non-state employees. The biggest recipients included Mark York who got $1,181.88; Evelyn Boswell, $1,112.77; and Randy Sticha, $1,078.74. Additionally, there is no salary or payroll data for these three individuals suggesting they were not working as government contractors at the time of these reimbursements. The state should provide taxpayers with more information to justify spending public funds to reimburse travel expenses.
Doing extra research on our end showed the top three recipients all
serve the people of Illinois in admirable ways, ranging from school
district president to a former chief of police. Unfortunately the
state did not provide us with this information in their responses to
our Freedom of Information Act Requests. It would be helpful if the
state gave more information in their FOIA responses so the taxpayers
can determine what is a good use of our money and what is not.
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses & People" and looking for "Reimbursement to nonstate emply travel expenses in," "Nonstate emply reimbursement for travel expenses," "Reimbursement to nonstate emply for travl expenses" and "Reimbursement of travel expenses nonstate emply."
There are a number of spending line-items labeled "Cash Request From [date] Grant Number [number]," with single grant payouts as high as $5,122,424. There is a database that has the grants by number, as the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity states, "The Grantee Reporting System (GRS) resides on a State of Illinois mainframe computer in Springfield. It is accessed via the Internet through an unpublished website address." Is this the most transparent way to report grants so the public can see them? Couldn't the state consolidate the grant reporting system and make it more public so we could see what the ILDCEO is supporting?
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses & People" and looking for "Cash Request From [date] Grant Number [number]" in the spending category.
Petty cash reimbursements totaled $14,746.69 in 2008 and $39,068.99 in 2009. The agencies with the highest totals were the Department of Veteran Affairs in 2008 with $8,933.53 and the Department of Transportation in 2009 with $33,085.13. These numbers may be different than those on the IllinoisOpenGov site due to rounding. The table below displays the information by department and year.
To find these entries on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and scroll down "Category of Spending" to "2009 Petty Cash," "Petty Cash," and "Replenish Petty Cash." To see the data used to make the table below, download the search results by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon at the bottom of the search.
In 2008 and 2009 (by the time of our FOIA request) the Department of Commerce paid J Walter Thompson $6,602,028.39 for "Professional Advertising/Media Services." The Department spent $4,519,819.96 on these services in 2008 and an additional $2,082,208.43 in 2009. J Walter Thompson is a global advertising and communications firm that has worked with the Department of Commerce in the past.
It would be interesting to know what services J Walter Thompson has provided over the last two years and what selection criteria the state used when deciding to contract with J Walter instead of another advertising agency.
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People" and looking for "Professional Advertising/Media Services" and "Professional Advertising/Media Serives" in the spending category.
In addition to spending more than $15,000 on travel, and more than $235,000 on membership fees, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (ILDCEO) spent more than $2,000 on "Registration Fees" for an unknown event or events. Why does this department spend so much on these sorts of expenditures?
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People" and looking for "Registration for ILDCEO employee" in the spending category.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $364,835.16 in 2008 and 2009 (by the time of our FOIA requests) on membership fees. The Department of Employment Security spent $14,910.50 on membership fees in the same time frame. The total amount spent by both agencies comes to $379,745.66. The table below breaks down the expenses by department and year. These numbers may be slightly different than those listed on the IllinoisOpenGov site due to rounding.
To see the related entries on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and scroll down "Category of Spending" to "Annual Membership," "Fee for Membership," and "Membership." To see the data used in the table below, you can download the search results by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon at the bottom of the search.
In 2008, the Illinois Department of Commerce spent $25,900 on hiring entertainment in the form of musicians, dancers, and other performers for the Ethnic Village at the 2008 State Fair. The most expensive entertainer was Keith McEachron, who cost taxpayers $3,600. The 2nd most costly individual was Timothy J. Delaney, whose service as a percussionist cost taxpayers $2,400. On the other end of the spectrum, the state paid the Springfield International Folk Dancers only $200 for their services, suggesting that it is possible to hire entertainers at a more reasonable cost.
You can find this spending by going to "Checks to Business and Individuals" and scrolling down to "Entertainer at 2008 IL State Fair Ethnic Village" in the spending category.
In 2008 and 2009 (by the time of our FOIA requests), the Department of Commerce spent $251,829 on leasing computers. In 2008 they spent $155,126.60 and in 2009 an additional $96,702.79. The Department rents laptops, monitors and desktop PC's from IBM Corporation and Hewlett Packard Company. More information on the duration of these leases and whether the Department of Commerce's need for them is temporary or indefinite would be helpful in determining if leasing is the most economical approach, or if the state would be better off purchasing computers.
You can find this yourself by going to "Checks to Businesses and People," selecting "Department of Commerce" for the Department and looking for "IBM Corporation" and "Hewlett Packard Company" under the vendor section.
In 2009, the Department of Employment Security spent $2,220 on bathroom air freshener service from Fikes Fresh Brands in Indiana. On the Fikes Fresh Brands site, they advertise that the bathroom air freshener service is available for less than $2 per week. Assuming that it's about $2 per week for the service, the Department of Employment Security could keep around 21 bathrooms smelling fresh for a year with the $2,220 price tag.
To find these charges on the IllinoisOpenGov site, click on "Checks to Businesses & People" and scroll down "Category of Spending" to "Bathroom Air Freshner Service."
Illinois paid Suzi Davis Ltd., a travel firm that specializes in exotic vacations and corporate travel, more than $15,000 for travel by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Employees. Where are these employees going, and why is it all for this single department?
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People" section and selecting"Air Fare" for the spending category.
The State reimbursed only two people for tuition, Marco Morales and Netti MacHovski, $1,149, with Mr. Morales receiving $1,000. Mr. Morales is a Public Service Administrator with the Department of Employment security and he makes about $82,000 per year. What class(es) did Mr. Morales take, and why is he the only state employee to receive substantial tuition reimbursements?
You can find this information for yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People" and selecting "Tuition Reimbursement: Marco Morales" in the spending category. His salary is listed under the "Payroll" section.
In 2008 and 2009 (by the time of our FOI request) the Department of Employment Security spent $3,212.38 on heavy duty staplers. The spending breaks down to be $1,602.50 spent in 2008 and an additional $1,609.88 in 2009. All the purchases were made from Office Depot located in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of the average priced heavy duty staplers I could find offered by Office Depot is the Swingline® LightTouch™ Heavy Duty Stapler, which sells for $72.99.
To find these entries on IllinoisOpenGov.org, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and scroll down the "Category of Spending" to "SN 1709 STAPLER, HEAVY-DUTY."
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $191,799 on participation fees in 2008 and another $79,359 in 2009 (by the time of our FOIA requests). The participation fees were for events such as conferences, film festivals, award banquets, galas, and annual meetings. The largest single participation fee was $30,000 in 2008 to the Women's Business Development Center for their 22nd Annual Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference in Chicago, and the average fee was $4,917.92. In 2009, the largest participation fee was for Robert Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival at $10,000, and the average fee was $6,104.54.
To find these entries on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to Checks to Businesses & People and scroll down Category of Spending to "Fee For Agency Participation," "Additionl Fee For Agency Participation," and "Fee for DCEO's Participatn."
In 2008, the Governor's Office spent $2,250 on party supplies rentals from THE PARTY TREE RENTAL INC. The Illinois Policy Institute is interested in determining what party supplies were rented for $2,250 and for what purpose. This information will be helpful in allowing the taxpayers to decide whether or not renting party supplies was the most effective use of their money. Another interesting aspect of this: The $2,250 payment was made to The Party Tree Rental INC., which according to the information provided to us by the state, is located in Hot Springs, Arizona.
You can find this yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People," selecting "Governor's Office" for the department and looking for "Party Supplies Rental" in the spending category.
In 2008 and 2009, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Department of Employment Security spent a total of $37,146 on booth rentals and materials. The 2008 total was $12,056, and the 2009 total (at the point of our FOIA requests) was $25,090. The breakdown of the expenditures by department is listed in the table below.
The booth rentals were listed for events such as trade shows, conferences, and fairs. To find the entries in the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to checks to Businesses & People and scroll down Category of Spending to "Booth Rental," "Exhibit Booth," and "Rental Of Booth."
To read about booth costs associated with the Illinois State Fair, click here for an article from IllinoisPolicy.org.
Illinois spent more than $400,000 on interns last year, with the Illinois Public Health Institute spending alone more than $120,000. U of I spent the remainder, minus about $15,000 for the "Illinois Public Health," which may actually be the aforementioned Institute. How many interns does the Illinois Public Health Institute hire and how much does each intern get paid? Is hiring interns really a good HR expenditure, or would the state be better off hiring full time staff?
You can find this information yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People" and finding "Interns" under the spending category.
As you can see, Jansco provides a broad selection of pens at a wide array of prices. Unfortunately, the Governor's Office did not provide us with more information about this purchase beyond the spending category "Imprint -Pens." It would be helpful if the state could tell us if this spending was for purchasing pens or just imprinting them, in addition to how many pens they received for the $5,625.34 spent. This information would help taxpayers make an informed decision on whether or not this type of purchase is a good use of our money.
You can find this yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People," selecting "Governor's Office" for the department and looking for "Imprint -Pens" in the spending category.
In 2008, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $3,770 on golf cart rentals and permits. The rental fees for the golf carts accounted for $1,390, and $2,380 went to permits for the golf carts. The vendor for these expenses is listed as the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
To find the golf cart related expenses, go to Checks to Businesses & People and scroll down Category of Spending to "(2) 4-seater golf cart rentals," "(3) permits for rented golf carts," and "golf cart permits."
Illinois's Department of Transportation paid out more than $1,000,000 in torts and settlements to individuals and companies, including Allstate, in 2009. Some settlements were less than $200, but others were as high as $60,000. Why is this department getting sued so much, and what is it getting sued for?
You can find this yourself by going to the "Checks to Businesses and People," selecting "Department of Transportation" for the department and looking for "Tort, Settlements And Similar Payments-Nontaxable" in the spending category.
In 2008 and 2009, the Governor's Office spent a grand total of $30,026.35 on renting copiers. They spent $6,408.43 on copiers up until the time of our FOIA requests in 2009 and an additional $23,617.92 on renting copiers in 2008.
To find these items on IllinoisOpenGov, click on Checks to Businesses & People and scroll down the Category of Spending Field to "Copier Rental, or Copier Rent." To see the numbers listed in table, you can download the data by clicking on the Excel icon on the bottom left of your search screen.
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People and click on Department of Transportation under Department, click on Subscriptions under Category of Spending, and search through the document. To make the search easier click on the bottom excel link to download the file.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $28,728.54 on giveaways and prizes in 2006, 2008, and 2009. The breakdown of expenses by year is listed in the table below. The numbers in the table may be slightly different than those listed on IllinoisOpenGov due to rounding.
Giveaway and prize expense descriptions included events for the Governor, the Illinois Film Office, Local Officials Day, the Office of Coal Development, and the Office of Energy and Recycling.
To find these items on IllinoisOpenGov, click on Checks to Businesses & People and scroll down the Category of Spending Field to "giveaway," "prizes" and "printing labels: to place on giveaways." To see the numbers listed in table, you can download the data by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon at the bottom of your search.
In 2008 the Governor's Office spent $1,659.5 on newspaper subscriptions. To get an idea of what this means, a subscription to The Chicago Tribunecosts $4.75 for a week or $247 for a yearly subscription and The Chicago Sun-Timescosts $1.40 for a week which works out to $72.80 a year. Using the Tribune's cost of $247 per year it seems that the Governor's Office had at least 6 papers delivered daily in 2008.
In 2009, at the time of our FOIA request, the Governor's Office had already spent $6,942 on newspaper subscriptions. Again taking the cost of the Tribune, $247 per year, as our estimate, the information provided to us by the state suggests that the Governor's Office was subscribed to 28 newspapers in 2009. Which makes us wonder why did the Governor's Office more then quadruple their newspaper expenditures from 2008 to 2009?
You can find this information by going to the Checks to Businesses and Individuals section, sorting the Governors Office and searching for Subscription.
In 2008 the Department of Employment Security paid Lester & Rosalie Anixter Center more than $94,000 to put IDES records on microfilm. Should the government be spending that much money on microfilm? Or should they begin the transition to digital records?
You can find this information by going to "payments to vendors and people" and selecting "Department of Employment Security," and looking for the spending category "Microfilming Of Ides Records."
Between 2008 and 2009 (up to the time of our FOIA request), the State of Illinois spent $1,705,407.81 on expenses to UPS and FedEx. The total amount spent in 2008 was $940,594.18, with the Department of Public Health accounting for more than half that total. In 2009, the total came to $764,813.63 with the Department of Transportation spending the most with $212,157.28. The data is displayed in the tables below.
To find this data, go to Checks to Businesses & People and in the vendor field, type in "United Parcel Service," "UPS," "Federal Express Corporation," and "FEDEX."
Department
Year
Total
Department
of Children and Family Services
2009
$163,356.81
Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
2008
$40,800.00
Department
of Corrections
2008
$30,523.37
2009
$168,881.93
Department
of Corrections Total
$199,405.30
Department
of Employment Security
2008
$9,099.77
2009
$56,612.73
Department
of Employment Security Total
$65,712.50
Department
of Healthcare and Family Services
2008
$353,055.06
2009
$109,243.86
Department
of Healthcare and Family Services Total
In 2008, the Governor's Office spent $18,747.52 on reimbursing individuals for travel expenses. The most expensive individual traveler by far was John B. Filan who was reimbursed for $3,059.78 worth of in-state and out-of-state travel. In a distant second was Erin E. Knowles with her $1,050.07 in travel expense reimbursements for 2008.
You can find information on travel reimbursements for all Governor's Office employees by going to Checks to Businesses & People, pull up the Governor's Department, and search by individual name or spending category like "Instate Travel."
In 2008, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spent $10,000 on a "fee for agency participation in Dark Knight Gala" in Chicago. The Dark Knight Gala was an event honoring Christopher Nolan, the director of the most recent Batman films, and included a screening of The Dark Knight and a dinner reception.
To find this entry, go to Checks to Businesses & People and click on Category of Spending. Scroll down to "Fee For Agency Participation In Dark Knight Gala," and click go.
A category of spending labeled "Identified Offenders" is listed in the Department of Public Health. Not exactly sure what this title meant, I called the Department of Public Health and was told that this title covered background checks for those in nursing homes--so that those with violent histories are managed with others' safety in mind.
Daniel J. Cuneo is the respective vendor for this Category Spending, and according to the Department of Public Health charges around $150 per background check. The Department of Public Health paid him $240,000 in one year, approximately $660 dollars a day.
After doing a Google search for background checks, I found that background checks were being advertised for $20 to $50.
The Department of Public Health also mentioned that they had an open-bid for this contract.
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People, click Department of Public Health under Department, then click Category of Spending to list in alphabetical order and scroll down to "Identified Offenders" under Category of Spending.
In 2008 and 2009, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Department of Employment Security, and the Governor's Office spent a combined $15,621 on bottled water and water coolers. The data for the three departments is organized in a table below. These numbers may appear slightly different that the data on the IllinoisOpenGov website due to rounding.
To find these figures, go to Checks to Businesses & People, and scroll down Category of Spending to "bottled" to see the various bottled water entries to search. To find the water cooler entries, scroll down to "water cooler." You can download the information by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon at the bottom of your searches.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has a "Category of Spending" dubbed "Indirect Costs." With such a non-descriptive title one might expect it would include smaller, difficult-to-classify purchases.
That said, there are two listings for "Indirect Costs," both for Maximus Inc., totaling $53,193.
What exactly does "Indirect Costs" cover; how does Maximus Inc provide for "Indirect Costs"; and is there a better way to classify the spending than "Indirect Costs"?
After speaking with the Department of Public Health, it seems that "indirect costs" are costs associated with furthering federal government initiatives in Illinois, i.e. hiring personnel.
There are no other listings for Maximus, Inc. in the Department of Public Health.
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People, click Department of Public Health under Department, then click Category of Spending to list in alphabetical order and scroll down to I.
Still, even these high-end sheets don't approach the $404.21 that the Governors office spent on bed sheets. I wonder if the Governor's office bought 20 orders of the Cannon Flannel Sheet Set Collection or just one set of really nice sheets.
To find this information in the IllinoisOpenGov site, simply go to Checks to Businesses & People and sort by category of spending and the bed sheets should be the eighth item down.
In fiscal year 2009, Illinois paid over $2,891,482 in interest penalties to various vendors. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services was responsible for a majority of the interest penalties with a total of $2,734,845. The table below breaks down the interest penalties by department. These numbers may be slightly different than those listed on the website due to rounding.
The Prompt Payment Act is intended to ensure vendors receive payment from state agencies in a timely manner. In Illinois, a timely manner is stated to be 60 days. After 60 days, payments are subject to an interest penalty of 1% per month or fraction of a month until the amount is paid in full.
To find these entries, go to Checks to Businesses & People, and click on Category of Spending. Scroll down to see the six categories related to interest penalties, all starting with term "Interest Penalty." To see the raw data used in the table, you can download the information by clicking on the Excel or CSV icon at the bottom left corner of the search results.
The Department of Public Health spent $308,000 on a "Liaison For Fusion Ctr" for the University Of Illinois in Chicago. First, what is this fusion center? Second, what is the purpose of a liaison for the fusion center? Third, for what purpose is the Department of Public Health involved in this fusion center?
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People, click Department of Public Health under Department, then click Category of Spending to list in alphabetical order and scroll down L.
Ever how much retired state employees make? The highest paid state retiree makes more than $17,000 per month. On average, the 50 highest paid state employees worked 25.74 years before retiring and make $155,292 per year.
Interesting question: why does dividing the annual pay by the number of years worked not yield a consistent number? You might think that pension amounts were based on a simple formula number of years employed X benefit rate.
To find this information for yourself, simply go to the "Retiree Pensions" section, and limit your search to all retirees making more than $10,000 per month (don't use the $ or ,, just put "10000"). Download the output into excel where you can sort by rate and exclude all but the 50 highest paid retirees.
The Department of Transportation spent a total of $405,065 on "Association Dues," ranging from the American Welding Society ($80) to the National Association of Governors ($16,312). Most "Association Dues" are under $500, however, some are as high as $76,192. There are also many "Association Dues" sent more than once to a single vendor. For example, there are 11 payments classified as "Association Dues" to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, totaling $163,392. Among these 11 payments, the smallest was $1,200 and the largest $76,192.
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People, click Department of Transportation under Department, then under Category of Spending click Association Dues, and then click Amount to sort from largest to smallest.
The Governor's Office spent $3,400 on cable from Comcast in 2008 and $1,400 in 2009 by the time our FOIA requests were processed (April 2009).
The Governor's Office is not alone. The Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity also paid Comcast for cable service for its director's office. Warren Ribley has been the Director of the DCEO since March 2009 and was previously its Director of Operations. Cable service for the director's office totaled $456 in 2008 and $229 in 2009 by the time of our FOIA request (March 2009).
To find these entries in the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to Checks to Businesses & People and type in Comcast in the vendor box. (Note: The search may take a few minutes to load due to the size of the database.) You can then select the Governor's Office and then Department of Commerce to see the cable charges for those departments.
Chuck Goudie at the Daily Herald recently wrote an article detailing the flying habits of state employees. He points out that the Attorney General's office has logged the most flights since Gov. Quinn took office with 326. The employee with the most flights is Deborah Stone, the deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources; she has already flown 61 times. We encourage you to use the information provided on this website to track some of the other travel expenses that state employees have charged over the past two years.
Ever wonder how much the highest paid state employees make? Answer: the highest paid state employee makes more than $19,000 per
month. On average, the 50 highest paid state employees make about $16,000 per month, or about $190,000 per year.
Of the 50 highest paid state employees, 34 are physicians with the Department of Human Services, seven are the members of the state Supreme Court, and the remaining nine are top administrators. Interesting note: two of the three highest paid employees work for the Teachers' Retirement System, even though no employee of the larger State Retirement System is on the top 50.
Here's how you can find this information yourself: go to the "Payroll" section and limit your selection to people making more than $15,000 per month (don't use the $ or ,, just put "15000"). Download the output into excel and you can sort by monthly pay and eliminate all but the 50 highest earners.
IllinoisOpenGov has 45,547 current retiree pensions online. Compare that to the state's own Illinois Accountability Portal, which has 0 retiree pensions online.
We have information on pensions paid to members of the State Retirement System, the General Assembly Retirement System, and the Judges' Retirement System. The only system whose information we're lacking is the Teachers' Retirement System, but that will be part of a future update to the site.
Not to mention we have pension account information for current state employees next to their salaries in the Payroll section.
Be sure to check out the Payroll and Retiree Pensions sections on the site to see just how much data we have.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has listed many items in "Equip, Not Elsewhere Classified, < $100-Vendors", "Small Tools, Not Exceeding $100", and "Office and Library Equip, Not Exceeding $100-Vendor" that are over $100. Ranging from $101 to $11,232, with many entries above $1,000, it appears odd that there would be so many purchases over $100 classified under $100. Perhaps, these classifications sum up many items under $100? This needs clarification.
To find this: go to Checks to Businesses & People, click Department of Transportation under Department, then under Category of Spending click the selections listed above, and then click Amount to sort from largest to smallest.
If you live in Illinois, the answer is at least $2,822. In 2008, the Department of Commerce spent $2,520 on 84 cases of hot sauce, as well as an extra $302 in freight charges for the hot sauce. The hot sauce came from Pooh's Corner in Springfield, which specializes in gift baskets and gourmet foods. Their "Illinois Basket" features gourmet sauces in a custom-made Illinois shaped basket.
To find these entries, go to Checks to Businesses & People and search the Department of Commerce. Then sort the data by Category of Spending, and jump to pages 8 and 9 to see the hot sauces charges to Pooh's Corner and to page 281 to see find the hot sauce freight charges 12th from the top.
The Governor's Office spent $199.58 on a badge holder in 2008. With some quick looking around I found that at Police Supply Online the Boston Leather Undercover Neck Chain Badge and ID Holder goes for $14.95 What was so special about this $199.58 badge holder? Is this purchase for multiple badges? It would be helpful if the Governor's Office was clearer in their responses to Freedom of Information Act Requests. The holder can be found under "Checks to Businesses and People" within the Governor's Office Department. Sort by category of spending and it is the seventh item down
Here we display data on state spending--vendors, payroll, retirement benefits--obtained from the State of Illinois through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Check back soon for information on new data to be added, as well as details of data already on the site.
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