Article: State to spend cash on flowers in fiscal crisis First lady sees boost for tourism in plan to beautify roads

First lady Patti Blagojevich will soon unveil a statewide road "beautification" effort that will plant wildflowers at dozens of interchanges, weigh stations, historic sites and entry points to Illinois to brighten dull scenery and spur tourism.

But questions are already dogging the program, which Blagojevich said was inspired by a visit to Texas and Lady Bird Johnson's efforts in the 1960s to spruce up the nation's highways.

Cost estimates run anywhere from $1 million to nearly $2 million-- depending on which administration official you ask. And there is debate among state officials about whether it will take money away from essential services like road maintenance at a time when the

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