Springfield, IL...Illinois State Representative Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) expressed concern after reviewing a recent audit which revealed over half of the road fund expenditures in the past two years were not used for direct road construction. On Tuesday, the Illinois Auditor General released a report which exposed road fund dollars being used to pay for expenditures other than road improvements.
The Office of the Auditor General as required by Senate Resolution 788 conducted an audit of money deposited into the Road Fund and its expenditures over a 10 year period. Over a 10 year period dating back from 2002-2011, Road Fund expenditures were $25.1 billion, with 25% ($6.2 billion) of expenditures made by state agencies other than Illinois Department of Transportation.
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"I am outraged to learn that more than half of our road fund dollars was not used to maintain our roads," said Rep. Dwight Kay. "The State of Illinois collects one of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation to help maintain our roads. The road fund should not be used for anything other than improving and repairing our roads."
According to the audit, during Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012, 52% of the Road Fund expenditures did not go to road improvements. $3 billion out of $5.7 billion was diverted from the Road Fund over a two year period.
The Auditor General's report is available here: http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/.
