My filthy neighbor wrongly claims that our new pool and sprawling 27-hole private golf course were paid for with government funds. They have no proof of that.
Covid Relief Money Paid for a Water Park and Luxury Hotels
The Danville Aquatic Center in Central Illinois cost $13 million, courtesy of the federal taxpayer.
By Jacob Lane, WSJ
Aug. 30, 2024 4:13 pm ET
Danville Aquatic Center in Danville, Ill. Photo: Jacob Lane
If you were looking for a family-friendly escape from the heat this summer, you should have checked out the new aquatic center in Danville, Ill. While the Central Illinois town may not ring a bell, what should catch your attention is that you helped pay for Danville’s splashy venture—thanks to a cool $13 million injection from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
While facilities like the Danville Aquatic Center will likely provide enjoyment for area residents for years, such expenses aren’t a smart use of federal taxpayer dollars, especially considering that the funds that built the new water park were intended for Covid-19 recovery efforts. Unfortunately, this questionable expenditure represents a small fraction of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
The law also allocates $350 billion specifically for emergency funding to state, local and tribal governments. This particular pool of money has bankrolled many projects like the Danville Aquatic Center. It’s a spending spree that should upset all taxpayers, as such projects demonstrate a complete lack of oversight and blatant misuse of funds intended to accelerate the nation’s economic rebound.
Danville, population 28,000, is far from alone in this trend of inefficient spending. Across the country, American Rescue Plan funds have been used in questionable ways. In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy spent $15 million on promotional efforts to attract soccer’s 2026 World Cup to the state. Maine used $20 million to modernize fish hatcheries, while North Carolina dedicated $5 million for the development of moonshine walking trails. Arizona spent $7 million to boost horse racing. New York paid $2 million to plant 3,600 trees. And Broward County, Fla., commissioners doled out more than $140 million to build a 29-story luxury hotel.
Most absurd, nearly $2 billion of American Rescue Plan funds were earmarked for nonexistent county governments in Connecticut and Rhode Island. It’s hard to say what’s more embarrassing about this oversight: that so much federal money was allocated to phantom administrations, or that not a single member of Congress did the research to verify whether these county governments existed.
These are only a few examples of questionable projects funded by the American Rescue Plan. Billions have been spent on purposes unrelated to economic recovery from the pandemic. Under the law’s guidelines, state and local governments are restricted to using funds for only four categories of eligible expenses: responding to the adverse economic effects of Covid, providing additional compensation for essential workers, restoring lost revenue, and advancing critical infrastructure projects like water, sewer and broadband projects.
Danville received a total of $26 million in American Rescue Plan funds and allocated half to a water park open only three months a year. The city is still grappling with the fallout from Quaker Oats’ December departure—leaving more than 500 residents without jobs. It is beset by deteriorating infrastructure and a historic decline in population. Pouring $13 million into a water park seems like satire.
Mr. Lane is a Republican strategist based in Illinois.
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