"Squeezy" comes at little cost
Updated: January 18, 2013
SPRINGFIELD - Viewers asked so we dug deeper. Squeezy "The Pension Python" comes at little cost to taxpayers.
Gov. Pat Quinn's office created the cartoon snake as part of an advocacy website for pension reform. An open records request to the governor's office revealed the only new cost for the entire web site was a $23 purchase to reserve domain names at GoDaddy.com.
Quinn's office says the web site was produced in house and a staffer came up with the concept of Squeezy.
Quinn launched the site in November, before lawmakers returned to the capitol for a lame duck session this winter.
At the end of that session, lawmakers still weren't able to reach a deal to reform the state's drowning pension system. The unfunded liability inches closer and closer to $100 billion each day.
Critics have questioned the governor's use of a cartoon snake to try to reach a deal on pensions. But the governor defends the campaign, saying creative communication is needed to reach all the citizens of Illinois.
Gov. Pat Quinn's office created the cartoon snake as part of an advocacy website for pension reform. An open records request to the governor's office revealed the only new cost for the entire web site was a $23 purchase to reserve domain names at GoDaddy.com.
Quinn's office says the web site was produced in house and a staffer came up with the concept of Squeezy.
Quinn launched the site in November, before lawmakers returned to the capitol for a lame duck session this winter.
At the end of that session, lawmakers still weren't able to reach a deal to reform the state's drowning pension system. The unfunded liability inches closer and closer to $100 billion each day.
Critics have questioned the governor's use of a cartoon snake to try to reach a deal on pensions. But the governor defends the campaign, saying creative communication is needed to reach all the citizens of Illinois.
