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Illinois highway workers put the brakes on roadkill pick-ups
WQAD.com ^ | May 17, 2008 | Chris Minor

Posted on 05/18/2008 5:27:43 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

QUAD CITIES -- Illinois officials have grounded state highway workers, and that means you'll be seeing more dead animals along highways and interstates.

''There's alot more road kill, it's disgusting'', said a driver parked at a rest-stop along Interstate 74. ''It's not a very good image for the state. People drive through and see all that stuff in the road. ''

Al Mustafa says he drives all over the country and noticed this week how bad it was on roads in Illinois.

''Dead deer. I've seen alot more. I seen a trucker almost have an accident trying to avoid one. It's dangerous,'' Mustafa said. ''It's nasty''.

The Illinois State Transportation Department says highway workers can only use thier trucks for emergencies, because their fuel fund for the year is all dried up. A statewide gas freeze now in effect, they blame the state's tough winter and high gas prices for blowing the budget. IDOT says it spent double what it expected, and is overbudget 46-million dollars.

''They can't fix roads, they can't pick up animals, but we can afford the Governor to go from Chicago to Springfield all the time'', said a frustrated Reba Diviney, a passenger passing through from the Peoria area.

State workers won't be picking up road kill, or cutting the grass or picking up trash along highways and interstates. They're still being paid, however.

A 20 million dollar emergency spending bill could be passed next week to get the trucks up and running again. The fiscal year ends June 30th.

''They say they're broke. If they took one cent for every lottery ticket they sold, they will scatter the highway with gold, not jut dead animals'', Mustafa said.

''The state is broken politically and financially'', said one driver.


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: highways; highwayworkers; illinois; roadkill
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Around here the coyotes, vultures, hawks, crows and whatever else cleans up the road kill.


21 posted on 05/18/2008 8:01:35 PM PDT by tiki (True Christians will not deliberately slander or misrepresent others or their beliefs)
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To: spunkets

Oh, yeah. That Obama guy. I’ve heard of him. DemocRAT, right? He can’t even solve a simple roadkill problem and now he wants to run the country or something.


22 posted on 05/18/2008 8:03:46 PM PDT by Texas Eagle (Could pacifists exist if there weren't people brave enough to go to war for their right to exist?)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

It ain’t roadkill without a pic!


23 posted on 05/18/2008 8:24:26 PM PDT by shadowcat
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Life under Democratz:

Citizens turn down a referendum asking for higher taxes. The gummint responds by restricting services so as to “punish” the citizenry.

At the next round of elections, the Democratz again ask for higher taxes with the unspoken threat that they will further restrict services unless they get more taxes.

If it sounds like extortion to you, you’re on the right freqency.

Think about your vote before you cast it in November; think about who and what you’re voting to put in office.


24 posted on 05/18/2008 8:26:48 PM PDT by Rembrandt (We would have won Viet Nam w/o Dim interference.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I drove about 100 miles yesterday and saw four dead deer. I wonder if we are cutting back as well in Iowa.


25 posted on 05/19/2008 4:03:59 AM PDT by exhaustguy
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To: eggman
Sit around drinking coffee in the garage?

Hey, I wouldn't mind doing that. However, that's no way to run a railroad. I'd just send them home until the emergency appropriation came through.

26 posted on 05/19/2008 4:25:11 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (To the liberal, there's no sacrifice too big for somebody else to make. --FReeper popdonnelly)
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To: IncPen

Wonder where that 66 cents per gallon is going(tax)


27 posted on 05/20/2008 1:13:35 PM PDT by Nailbiter
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