Chicago Transparency

by Kate Piercy Yesterday Mayor Daley announced updates and “improvements” to the City of Chicago’s website, saying these changes would make his administration more transparent. The site includes more data about Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, vendors, contracts, and city employees. The site is getting mixed reviews from some media and members of the public, reacting...

by Kate Piercy

Yesterday Mayor Daley announced updates and “improvements” to the City of Chicago’s website, saying these changes would make his administration more transparent. The site includes more data about Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, vendors, contracts, and city employees.

The site is getting mixed reviews from some media and members of the public, reacting to one addition, which involves listing information about the actual person filing Freedom of Information requests to the city. Although not required by law to do so, the city will list the name, requesting organization, and the documents requested through the FOIA.

Posting FOIA requests and the city’s responses to those requests would be helpful information to have online. However, some are questioning, “Why can’t they post the FOIA request without names and affiliations?”

For a look at the site, click here.