(The Center Square) – Reactions are mixed as to whether Illinois should have a Department of Government Efficiency effort similar to what the Trump administration is doing with federal agencies.
Headed up by Elon Musk at President Donald Trump’s direction, DOGE is making waves by reporting out hundreds of millions in questionable taxpayer spending within federal agencies.
Asked if Illinois, with an anticipated $3 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year, should have a similar effort, state Rep. Marcus Evans, Jr., D-Chicago, said not so fast.
“This budget deficit is the reality of government operations and we’re going to figure it out, but that Elon Musk department is unnecessary here in Illinois,” Evans told The Center Square.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democrats are being good stewards of Illinois tax dollars, Evans said.
“My hope is that they discard the Elon Musk department and focus on really fixing this country,” Evans said. “We have a lot of issues that are not controversial.”
Evans said Trump’s focus should be on infrastructure and human services.
State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, said the state’s taxpayers need more timely transparency on how their money is spent.
“I’m a member of the Legislative Audit Commission and we see audits after the fact, right, the errors, the problems have already occurred,” Elik told The Center Square. “Let’s make sure that we’re addressing those on the front end.”
Elik expects to find “low-hanging fruit” within state departments as they start working on the budget later this spring.
State Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, said he wants a real time forensic audit of Illinois spending, especially with a looming $3 billion state budget deficit.
“The citizens of Illinois would be shocked if we actually peeled back the layers of the onion to find out what’s really going on here and the fiscal insanity that we’re seeing in real time and living that out,” Miller told The Center Square.
Miller said the state can’t ask taxpayers to bailout an “incompetent and irresponsible government.”
Legislators are off until next week. Pritzker is scheduled to deliver his State of the State and budget proposal for the coming fiscal year on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
