(MCT) — Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday signed into law an extra $1.5 billion in spending for road construction and child welfare investigations, even as Republicans decried the measure as including ill-timed, pork barrel money.

The bill the governor requested includes $25 million for the Department of Children and Family Services and $12 million for mental health programs, but the priciest parts of the legislation were hundreds of millions of dollars for group health insurance costs and the road work that Quinn wants to get moving on in time for the spring construction season.