In 2010, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously affirmed the right of citizens to speak at public meetings in stating: “Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body.” In a sense, McLean County is complying with this state rule. In reality, county officials...
In late October, the city of Bloomington enacted one of the most comprehensive local government online transparency ordinances in the state, and taxpayers should be celebrating their officials’ commitment to open honest governing. By adopting an online transparency ordinance, largely based on the Illinois Policy Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist, Bloomington is taking the strongest possible action...
The village of Tinley Park has doubled-down on its investment in a privately managed restaurant within the 80th Avenue Metra station, voting this month to give $57,000 to Parmesans Station for a new pizza oven, according to the Chicago Tribune. In 2012, the village fronted a $600,000 investment for the restaurant space to complement the...
Illinoisans’ average property tax rates as a percentage of home value have soared to 2.28 percent in 2012 from 1.93 percent in 2010. This is the second highest rate in the nation. Many Illinois residents are asking why their taxes are so high, and are curious as to where all this is money going. One organization,...
At least 84 corruption-related stories have been reported from across the state of Illinois in August alone. Atop August headlines is the recent revelation that a federal grand jury subpoenaed the emails of Gov. Pat Quinn’s ex-chief of staff in relation to Quinn’s anti-violence grant program. The case, which has been referred to by some...
It’s not all bad news in Illinois. Sometimes our politicians get it right. Illinois lawmakers have made it a Class 4 felony to intentionally hide public records from the public. House Bill 4216, introduced by state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, was passed unanimously by both the Illinois House and Senate. It was signed into...
With improved state transparency laws and communities all over Illinois voluntarily becoming more transparent online, there’s never been a better time for citizens to get involved and hold local government accountable. But simply advocating for transparent government isn’t enough to identify waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, government watchdogs must make use of...
The controversy surrounding Chicago’s red-light camera program just got even more interesting. A judge revealed he is dismissing tickets by the fistful while former key players in the program have been indicted on federal bribery charges. Less than two weeks after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city will be reviewing more than 16,000...
The bad news keeps piling up for Illinoisans. Illinois Policy’s “corruption watch” blog series hit a new high in the month of July with nearly 100 corruption-related stories. Chicago and Springfield are the two cities most synonymous with the state’s corruption woes. Unsurprisingly, both cities dominated headlines with the top two corruption stories of the...
The state of Pennsylvania isn’t afraid to shame their convicted politicians, and Illinois shouldn’t be either. Recently, Pennsylvania started shaming the lawmakers who have been convicted of a crime by adding a detailed plaque under their portraits hanging in the state Capitol building in Harrisburg. The plaques highlight offenses committed by convicted lawmakers, including the...
An online transparency bill inspired by the shocking Rita Crundwell corruption scandal that cost Dixon, Ill. taxpayers more than $53 million will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2015. House Bill 5503, introduced by state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, will require Illinois counties and municipalities to be more transparent about how they spend taxpayer dollars. The...
Chicago has the most red-light cameras of any city in the country. Since 2003, the city’s 352 cameras have levied nearly half a billion dollars in fines. These cameras are sold to the public as a way to promote traffic safety, but the real outcome of the city’s program has been to grift lawful drivers...
The Local Transparency Project is an encouraging example of a successful grassroots effort and a great resource for citizen activists looking to organize and mobilize.- Sunlight Foundation For democracy to work citizens need access to the information about what government does. Proactive transparency is the best way to educate society about the actions of government....
An important debate about the future of the Export-Import Bank of the United States is raging in Congress and in the media. The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing last month to ask if the bank was “corporate necessity or corporate welfare?” The Ex-Im Bank originated as a New Deal-era program, financing loans to...