Illinois Raids Welfare for Videogame Legislation

jcgam69 writes "Recent hearings revealed that the State of Illinois spent $1 million defending their unconstitutional video games legislation. The story gets even worse when you learn where the money came from. 'Some of the areas money was taken from included the public health department, the state's welfare agency and even the economic development department. A state representative who attended recent hearings on the issue said that Gov. Blagojevich's staff simply spread the legal bills around by sticking them to agencies which had funds left in their budgets--even if the agencies had nothing to do with the issue or the litigation.'"

Comments

Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

Elwood: Illinois Nazis.
Jake: I hate Illinois Nazis.

This really isn't a surprise.

[PixieDust]

And anyone who is surprised by this hasn't been paying attention tot he level of corruption at higher levels. This government is rotting from the inside out. One look at the myriad of scandals and corruption at the top is all that's needed to deduce that at lower levels, it's going to be just as bad, albeit potentially not as well known, because it's not as sensational. Doesn't make for news quite as good as a Lawyer testifying before congress that she doesn't want to incriminate herself with her testimony over attorney's being fired. Apparently she didn't understand what being granted Immunity meant.

C'mon, with idiocy like that rampant, is anyone really shocked by this?

On the other hand, I can see exactly why this was done, and why it might be ok. It is the taxpayer's money, and it's expectd to be used. They spent it very poorly yes, but it's there to be spent. If the public is upset about it, they need to make that known, by tossing those dips out of office. If they don't do that, then no bitching from you. Either change it or stfu.

Re:This really isn't a surprise.

[ravenshrike]

Really the headline should read: Just another day of corruption in Illinois politics, move along.

Re:This really isn't a surprise.

[XxtraLarGe]

On the other hand, I can see exactly why this was done, and why it might be ok. It is the taxpayer's money, and it's expectd to be used. They spent it very poorly yes, but it's there to be spent. If the public is upset about it, they need to make that known, by tossing those dips out of office. If they don't do that, then no bitching from you. Either change it or stfu. You're right, it isn't a surprise. In another story about how Municipal Wi-Fi is failing, I posted "Harry Browne said it best... Government Doesn't Work!" and I got modded -1 off-topic. This is another example of government not working. There are tens of thousands of instances of government not working that are in the news every year, doesn't matter if it's democrats or republicans in charge. Then the people go to the polls, bend over and say "Thank you, sir! May I have another?" We really need to get away from the two-party Big Brother mentality. If you want to save this democracy, vote against the incumbent, and vote for 3rd party candidates whenever possible.

Re:This really isn't a surprise.

[edwdig]

There are tens of thousands of instances of government not working that are in the news every year, doesn't matter if it's democrats or republicans in charge.

Your comment just prompted the following thought:

Ever think about how many things they do get right? Remember, something is only news if it's out of the ordinary.

Re:This really isn't a surprise.

[XxtraLarGe]

Ever think about how many things they do get right? Remember, something is only news if it's out of the ordinary. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. In fact, I know that millions of drivers licenses are renewed successfully each year and billions of pieces of mail are delivered successfully every day, etc.

Now I have to ask you "Do you think about how many things they do wrong that you never hear about?" I used to be a contractor on a government project for nearly 3 years. Lots of good people doing the work they were supposed to. But there was also A LOT of poor decision making, especially when it came to spending--I'm talking $800 toilet seat type spending. When you'd point out that we could get what they needed for far less, the reply was often "it's not my money". Also, it seemed that many people in the top of the bureaucracy were quite incompetent. It was usually all of the small stuff was o.k., but when bad decisions were made, they were show-stoppers. Of course, most of the stuff they did didn't make the news, but when a whole group of people didn't get the child support checks they were expecting for over a week because somebody forgot to see if our new system was compatible with another agency's system, it did. Now maybe my experience is atypical, but I'd be willing to bet that it is not.

Re:This really isn't a surprise.

[CronoCloud]

You must not live in Illinois where it's easier to grease a palm and get your suspended license reinstated than for the average person to get their license legally renewed at the DMV

There's only so many DMV facilities for around 12 million people and only so many hours, you're supposed to renew by phone/mail/internet.

If you want in-person renewels to go faster, you're going to have to pay more money for longer DMV hours, more offices, and more people.

.

As long as it's for the children!!

[faloi]

This shouldn't come as a big surprise. I expect a lot of government offices/officials snake money from areas that still have some cash to pay for other interests. It's one of the biggest reasons agencies tend to spend all their money...if they have some left over, there's a chance someone will decide they don't really need that budget money and shift it to some other agency.

Halo 3 or food?

[192939495969798999]

Which would make you want to commit violence more, playing a video game or not getting a welfare check? Their priorities are completely messed up.

Re:Halo 3 or food?

[Quiet_Desperation]

Which would make you want to commit violence more, playing a video game or not getting a welfare check?

Someone spending a welfare check on a video game.

Re:Halo 3 or food?

[ef738]

Taking money I've earned to encourage others not to work makes me want to commit violence.

Obviously

[Rob T Firefly]

They are far too busy thinking of the children to think of the children.

Take it from the legislative budget.

[daeg]

That bites. The funds should come from the legislative budget, even if they have no funds left. The Legislature would be hard-pressed to pass more bills that could result in massive legal bills if their pay check was directly at risk.

Either that or create a discretionary fund that is 100% disclosed to voters at voting time, included in clear wording direct in the ballot.

Think of the children!

[kidcharles]

Think of the children! No, seriously, think of the children who need government assistance to eat.

Re:Think of the children!

[ab0mb88]

I have found it to be universally true that if you have to be reminded to think about the children, the larger issue probably does not have that much to do with the children in the first place.

How it really shakes out.

[landimal_adurotune]

The games in question are almost always rated M for mature and most chains require ID to buy them anyway. So Illonois spent $1,000,000 trying to protect 17 year old children from exposed breasts. There is far more titilation (pun intended) to be had in a no-age-limit Maxim/Stuff/etc. magazine than in nearly all of these video games. Heck the kids could just go to the art museum for far more nudity, and read Genesis and Leviticus for rape/murder/genocide/incest.

Re:Where'e the problem?

[gstoddart]

If the legislation was important enough to enact, then it's important enough to defend.

If you thought the legislation exceeded the scope of government, then you think paying to defend it is bad too.

The problem is, similar legislation had been thrown out in other states as being unconstitutional. So spending money on a bill you already know is going to get shot down by the courts is just stupid. Using budgets from other departments to pay for it is absurd.

From TFA:

Spending this sort of money on important causes is one thing; spending it on video game regulation approaches that have been repeatedly ruled unconstitutional in other states is quite another. The situation might be more understandable were it not for the fact that Illinois could have easily seen this coming, either by paying attention to what other states are encountering or by opening a dialogue with the likes of the ESA. Instead of taking that cautious approach, the Governor decided to press on, and now the taxpayers will bear that burden. The fact that some of the money was pulled from public health and welfare only makes the situation worse.

They knew their law wouldn't hold up in court. They spent tax payers money to defend a position they couldn't defend. They did some creative accounting to pay for it. You don't find that a little irresponsible?

Cheers

Re:It's a waste, yes. But get real.

[$RANDOMLUSER]

Actually, the quote is "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money", and ironically it's from Everett Dirksen, late Republican (back when Republicans could be moderates) Senator from Illinois.

Blagojevich is the Democratic haircut who was elected after Republican George Ryan self-destructed. For those of you who don't live here, Ryan was convicted on multiple corruption charges and is currently out on bond, pending appeal. Blagojevich recently defeated Judy Baar Topinka, a reactionary Republican hack, for a second term.

Illinois is a strange state. Politics is definetley a contact/blood sport here.