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Quigley Takes "Transparency Tour" of Stimulus Funds in District

August 20, 2009

CHICAGO, IL - Today, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) demonstrated again his commitment to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are well spent by embarking on a 'Transparency Tour' of several sites in the 5th District that have received funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Quigley visited the local project sites to see firsthand how the funding was being realized, highlight the impact of these infrastructure investments, and bring more transparency and accountability to the process.

"At a time when everyone is struggling, residents deserve to know that their tax dollars are being used efficiently and strategically," said Quigley. "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided us with a parachute during an economic free fall, but our work is not done. We must ensure that families and businesses not only land on their feet, but have the sustainability to stay in our community for years to come."

The tour included a stop at the Irish-American Heritage Center, a local non-profit community center which has been providing cultural and literacy education to residents for over 35 years. The Center received $75,000 in stimulus dollars for capital improvements and technology upgrades. Quigley also visited the Lakeview Pantry, one of eight food pantries in Illinois to receive funding. To date, the pantry has provided over 1,000 pounds of food to those hardest hit by the current economic downturn, all of which was made possible by funding through the ARRA-funded Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Quigley also stopped near Wrigley Field to review the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) repaving work on Addison Street, where over one mile of pothole-pocked roads and curbs are being resurfaced with the support of over $1 million of ARRA funding. The Addison project is one of six scheduled in the 5th District, amounting to over $10 million in investments.

At the CDOT work site, Quigley commented on the need to improve our infrastructure not only for safety and sustainability reasons, but particularly after a winter of record amounts of pothole damage and costly repairs to drivers.

"These are not just line items that exist on a bureaucratic ledger," said Quigley of the stimulus funds. "These are literally concrete investments in our community. It's my job to shine light on the process and make sure that at a time when every family is feeling the effects of the current economic climate, our efforts are real and their money is being spent wisely, effectively, and efficiently."

Last month, Cong. Quigley, who has an unwavering record of efforts to increase transparency and cut government waste, introduced a milestone earmark reform bill that would prohibit funding requests from for-profit entities, citing numerous abuses of such funds being traded for political favors. The bi-partisan initiative, H.Res. 614, was designed to ensure that Congress was "funding the fundamentals, not playing politics with pork," according to Quigley. Immediately after being sworn in this April, Quigley posted and publicized all of his public and non-profit requests on his Web site.