Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:20 AM CST
Taxpayers on hook again for governor’s videos
By KURT ERICKSON, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau
kurt.erikson@lee.net
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $335,000 in the coming year to make sure Illinois politicians are photographed and videotaped at various state events.
According to state documents, the state has renewed the contracts of five video production companies in the northern part of the state to do the special public relations work.
The figure could rise even higher when the ink dries on contracts for private companies in other parts of the state.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich came under fire for the contracts last year when his gubernatorial opponent, Republican Judy Baar Topinka, called them an example of the governor using taxpayer money to promote his political agenda.
The Blagojevich administration says videotaping and photography are a legitimate way to publicize the governor’s activities.
Plus, officials say it’s not just the governor who uses the service.
Of the nearly 450 events taped by both public and private video firms in the fiscal year that ended June 30, an estimated 80 of them were for press conferences and events attended by the governor.
“The requests for coverage came from the other constitutional officers, members and caucuses of the General Assembly and state agencies,” noted Sue Hofer, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
The governor has been criticized for putting his name on bookmarks promoting the state’s “All Kids” health insurance program. His name also has been featured prominently in signs along Illinois toll roads.
But, Blagojevich isn’t the first governor to use taxpayer dollars to burnish his image, nor is he the first governor to put his name on promotional items.
In 1998, Republican George Ryan, who was then secretary of state, used tax dollars to put his name on refrigerator magnets that were sent to seniors across the state.
A 2002 ethics law bans the use of the names of public officials in items promoting state programs.
Hofer said the $335,000 figure identified in the contract is a maximum amount that may not be completely spent. Last year, the amount was about $194,000 for nearly 90 different events.
In 2005, the state spent about $130,000 on the services.
Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt. erickson@lee.net or 217-789-0865
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