Late last week, Townhall reported about how President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Tesla founder Elon Musk, has made headlines for slashing millions from a slew of government agencies.
As Townhall covered, these include woke initiatives surrounding race, gender ideology, and enabling illegal immigration.
While Democrat lawmakers continue to flip out over DOGE, many Republicans are cooperating with the agency to investigate where taxpayer dollars are going.
One Republican lawmaker is taking a step further and proposing a new, DOGE-like department for his state.
Illinois state Rep. John Cabello (R) told WTTW that his state could take a cue from Musk. Cabello introduced House Bill 1266 to create the Illinois Department of Government Efficiency.
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“It (DOGE) is the new cool thing,” Cabello told the outlet. “Sometimes we don’t have those good ideas; we need to borrow them.”
The DOGE board would consist of the auditor general and four directors appointed by the two Democratic and two Republican leaders of the Illinois General Assembly. The directors would not be paid and could be legislators (via WTTW):
Unlike President Donald Trump, Cabello doesn’t call for bringing in outsiders to comb through state budgets and spending.
The Illinois DOGE would be established under the existing office of the auditor general — a constitutional officer, Frank Mautino, appointed by the legislature, tasked with reviewing the use of state funds.
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The board, per the bill, would “serve as an advisory and consulting organization to provide recommendations or strategies for State leaders” on cost savings and reductions.
Already, a Democratic chair of a House committee called it a “waste of taxpayer money.”
Cabello said that there’s currently a “duplication of services everywhere” in the state government.
“Jeez Louise, how many agencies do we have that do the same thing?” he said.
“They’re supposed to try and find the efficiencies,” Cabello added. “I’m trying to save the taxpayers money.”
