Iraq War costs Illinois taxpayers billions

The billions of dollars spent on the Iraq War could instead be used to improve the lives of Americans, local MoveOn.org members say.

About 40 people gathered during a busy lunch hour at the Thompson Center last week to discuss the cost of the war  and what else that money could be spent on here at home.

With financial problems facing Illinois schools, public transit and the healthcare system, state taxpayers’ money could be put to better use at home, said organizer Richard Stowell. For example, the CTA is facing service cuts and fare hikes and 7 million Illinois kids lack health insurance.

As Stowell spoke, other organizers held up a giant check signed by “American Taxpayers.” Illinois’ share of the bill: $24.69 billion. That’s $4.8 billion for Chicago alone, according to the National Priorities Project, which tracks spending of federal tax money.

With the additional $100 billion in spending that Congress approved in August, nearly half a trillion dollars – $456 billion – has been allocated or spent for the Iraq War, reports the National Priorities Project, a non-partisan research organization whose data was used for events in Chicago and throughout the country.

This breaks down to $4,100 for every household in the United States or $1,500 for every American, according to the Massachusetts-based research group. Spending data is based on Congressional Research Service requests and Department of Defense monthly reports. State and city costs were determined by IRS and Census Bureau estimates.

“We are disappointed that Congress passed the recent spending bill without a (withdrawal) timeline attached,” said Stowell of Chicago, a former trial lawyer.

The August “push” of events around the country are timed to communicate with members of Congress home on recess, Stowell said, before they go back to work in Washington, D.C.

“The money runs out in September, and they’ll need to talk about reauthorizing war funds,” he said.

Besides pointing out the cost to local taxpayers, organizers want to encourage elected officials to end what they called “an unwinnable religious civil war” that has already cost 20 times what the $50 billion to $60 billion the Bush Administration originally estimated in 2002.

Organizers cited research from the Congressional Budget Office that Iraq War costs could reach as high as $1 trillion. A California-based research group, ProCon.org estimates the war could cost upwards of $2 trillion, based on its review of government reports and statements.

And the war has made Americans less safe at home, local MoveOn members said, as funds aren’t available to fix aging bridges and roads, or other items in “our own backyard.”

“We’re turning up the heat in August because the American people want this war to end,” Stowell said.

A U.S. soldier at the gathering, wearing a “Wrong Way: Iraq” sign, agreed. The soldier, whose name could not be heard over the airplanes practicing for the Air and Water Show, spoke of the war as an “ill-begotten cause,” which “has taken its toll on the best and brightest this country has to offer, this country’s military.