He drastically slashed funding for the Illinois Arts Council, chaired by Shirley Madigan, the House Speaker’s wife. At least $9 million was cut out of grants distributed by the Arts council, including a million dollars for the Illinois Channel and $1.5 million for Public Radio and TV grants.

According to the , that $9 million represents almost half of their total revenue.

The IAC has consistently been one of the best Arts Councils for funding literature, but it’s hard to imagine that continuing now . . .