There’s a wide chasm between $1.5 million and whatever ridiculous sum the Chicago Bears eventually muster up the courage to request from state lawmakers specifically, but a seven-figure allotment for one pro golf tournament isn’t necessarily better business for Illinois.
In a Capitol News Insider piece Tuesday, Ben Szalinski detailed the findings of a recent Freedom of Information Act request. The fiscal 2027 budget that took effect yesterday sends $1 million to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to fund a $1 million grant to offset the PGA Tour’s expenses in staging the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club near the end of September. There also is a $500,000 “reappropriation” from a different PGA grant directed to “unspecified infrastructure improvements.”
According to Szalinski, the PGA must submit quarterly reports on the $1 million grant, and it will be important to track those documents in an attempt to validate DCEO’s belief that the tournament will generate at least that much local economic activity. It may be more important for independent thinkers to demand proof that any million spent is attributed specifically to the tournament, something often overlooked when experts stump for sports subsidies.
In other words, it’s not just “can we find $1 million in gross receipts” but insisting on evidence that each dollar was possible only because of the golf. That’s a higher bar to clear, but that’s precisely the point when using taxpayer funding to lure private business activity. (And don’t start my engines on giving NASCAR money; at least having a golf tournament at a golf course makes much more sense than shutting down Chicago streets for professional racing to look cool on TV.
WE HAVE A WINNER: Every winter, I spotlight possible holiday gift items with a Prairie State flavor. The spirit returns in midwinter, when the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association begins its annual tournament to crown “The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.” My apologies for being so late in sharing this year’s winner, the NASA Standard Initiator, a product from Cheering Energetic Devices of Downers Grove.
According to Capitol News Illinois, the “NSI is a small electrically activated pyrotechnic device that initiates propulsion by sparking a chain reaction of heat and pressure in space flight.” Read more at tinyurl.com/CoolestThing26, and start thinking about what to nominate for 2027.
DELICIOUS DOUGHNUTS: I asked readers to share their favorite hometown bakeries, specifically where I can find the best doughnuts on future road trips. AC emailed to recommend Morkes Chocolates in downtown Huntley. “They make great craft donuts, my favorite is the bacon maple. Their primary business is chocolate (also very good). Check them out, they are off the downtown square, parking in back.” It’s on the list!
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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July 2, 2026 at 10:00AM
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