Marathon Pundit: Morton Grove, Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Morton Grove, Illinois' Obama stimulus "campaign sign"

It's with some honor, or perhaps shame, that I have to announce that Morton Grove, Illinois, where I live, has its first Barack Obama ~~economic stimulus~~ 2012 campaign sign.

You can find this one on Oakton Avenue at the southern end of St. Paul Woods, a little more than a mile from my home.

Commenters on this blog and others have remarked that they see the signs, but there is no evidence of work being done.

Okay, that may not be a fair criticism, but the "work" so far completed on Oakton in Morton Grove consists of the placement of the ARRA sign and the one on the lower left, announcing that the project begins today.

Shortly after Sen. Tom Coburn released his list of 100 wasteful stimulus projects, the White House issued its response. In regards to the "campaign signs," the report stated:

Road signs costing $300 each are being placed at construction sites to alert motorists that the project is being paid for by stimulus money.

Response: Road project signage is both customary, and an allowable use of funds.

Uh, no. Egomaniacal local politicians, especially in Illinois, love to slap their names on signs like these. But it's rare on the national level, although for a while FDR's NRA signs were ubiquitous.

What's troubling to me is the similarity between the Obama campaign logo and the Recovery.gov symbol.