Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sos Entice
Sos Entice
Sos Entice
Fine Art
Why ENTICE needs
an overhaul
The Problem
Illinois’s dire fiscal situation continues to workshops.4 Topics of upcoming workshops
worsen year after year, and to turn this bad include “Incorporating Nature into Fine Arts,”
situation around it’s important to evaluate “Online Frogs and Toads,” and “The Greater
existing programs to ensure they’re necessary Prairie-chicken.”5
Spotlight on Spending
Number of teachers
1,505 2,135 1,056 240 120 171
completing ENTICE training
Environment and Nature
Training Institute for
$260,300 $242,800 $247,200 $263,800 $202,300 $273,400*
Conservation Education
(ENTICE) Expenditures
Program expenditures per
$172.96 $113.72 $234.09 $1,099.17 $1,685.83 $1,598.83
teacher trained
*Estimated
Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Office of the Comptroller’s Public Accountability Report,
Fiscal Years 2007 and 2009, and the Illinois Budget Books
This is part 11 of the Illinois Policy Institute’s weekly Spotlight on Spending series, highlighting wasteful or inefficient
programs and spending with the goal of bringing more responsible spending and accountable government to Illinois. For
additional information on state spending, visit www.IllinoisOpenGov.org.
Page 2 of 3
The Solution
The waning popularity and increasing
marginal cost of the ENTICE
program are indicators that it is not
It’s important the best use of taxpayer dollars,
to re-evaluate especially during an ongoing fiscal
crisis. At a minimum, a substantial
programs overhaul of the ENTICE program is
necessary; the Illinois Department of
often to make Natural Resources should consider
certain that ending this program or have it be
completely funded by user fees. Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Office of the
they are Governor Quinn’s recommendation Comptroller’s Public Accountability Report, Fiscal Years 2007 and 2009,
and the Illinois Budget Books
to zero-out this program in the
relevant, Illinois State Budget for fiscal year
necessary, 2011 should be applauded.
Endnotes
1 Bowman, Dale. “Manning pushing environmental
education.” Chicago Sun-Times: May 24, 2000.