Resumen de Government Redistribution in the Shadow of Legislative Elections: A Study of the Illinois Member Initiative Grants Program

Michael C. Herron, Brett A. Theodos

• We study an Illinois state government program called �member initiative spending� and examine the extent to which three competing theories can explain the program's allocations among Illinois's 118 House districts. We show that member initiative monies distributed before the 2000 general election were disproportionately allocated to districts that were politically competitive, represented by legislative leaders, or represented by moderate legislators. Our analysis supports theories that claim budgetary decisions made by elected officials are tactical, and it shows that the Illinois decision makers who allocated member initiative funds sought to distribute them in a way that would be most beneficial in the sense of vote buying.