Illinois lawmakers hand out tons of money through thousands of earmarks
Topline: Illinois State Rep. Robin Gabel reportedly told his colleagues that “there is no pork” in the 2026 state budget bill he sponsored. Yet ongoing analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute has found 2,815 pork-barrel earmarks hidden in the budget, worth a whopping $4.5 billion.
Key facts: The $55.2 billion budget passed on May 31, 2025, and included a $2 million earmark for the operational expenses of the nonprofit XS Tennis in Chicago. According to Construct Connect News, “XS Tennis and Education Foundation is the largest minority-owned tennis organization in the United States.” Founder Kamau Murray’s “dream is to bring tennis to impoverished communities and give young African Americans a better chance at excelling in a sport that has long eluded them.”
The Illinois Policy Institute questioned why the funding was needed. XS Tennis reported $22.7 million worth of revenue in 2024 and just $3.5 million of expenses.
Two months later, XS Tennis announced a planned $41 million expansion to its facility, including a six-story Hyatt Hotel and a five-story apartment building with pickleball courts.
State lawmakers also decided to multiply the budget of the nonprofit A Ray of Hope on Earth by more than 10 times, with only a vague explanation for the $4.6 million. The company, founded by former pro football player Ray McElroy, hosts workshops for “youth choosing to be college-bound, learn a trade skill, or go into direct employment.”
A Ray of Hope had only $415,365 in revenue in 2023, the latest year available. More than half was spent on “executive compensation” for McElroy, tax filings show.
Now the group will receive $4.6 million in the state budget for “operational expenses” and “costs associated with purchasing and renovating facilities.” The nonprofit does not appear to have any facilities, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.
The budget also contained $40 million for a new sports complex at Proviso West High School in the suburbs of Chicago — the alma mater of Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch. Surely, that must be a coincidence.
Another earmark went to the Reimagining Capitalism Lab, which aims to “change the narrative about who has an ownership claim to American prosperity.”
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Background: Illinois’ earmark process may be even less transparent than the federal government’s. Lawmakers do not have to publicly disclose their earmark requests, according to the Illinois Policy Institute, or provide any justification.
The Illinois Constitution requires lawmakers to have at least three days to read a budget bill before voting on it. But by adding the earmarks as amendments to an existing bill, lawmakers circumvented the rule and voted on them almost immediately, the Illinois Policy Institute reported.
The federal government has passed $15.9 billion worth of earmarks in the 2026 budget as of Feb. 16. That includes $408.2 million for Illinois.
Summary: With so many earmarks at the state and federal level every year, it can be almost impossible for taxpayers to be fully aware of how their money is being spent.
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