CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Congressional representatives from southern Illinois are advocating for the return of earmarks to the budgeting process in Washington, D.C. The Southern Illinoisan reports U.S. Reps. Mike Bost and John Shimkus are among the Republican members of Congress asking to lift the moratorium on earmarks, which allow representatives to designate funds for local projects through the legislative process. They were scrapped about five years ago in the face of corruption and abuse accusations. John Jackson, a visiting professor at the Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, says the region wouldn’t be what it is today without earmarks. For decades until the late 1980s, southern Illinois earned a generous share of federal earmarks that helped fund projects such as its interstate highway system, post offices and hospitals.