Good Government

Want more transparency? Union says “no”

For the second time in as many months, AFSCME opposed a measure that would bring more transparency to Illinois.

Institute stands with legislators to prevent corruption

In the wake of allegations that the city of Dixon’s comptroller stole over $53 million from the city, the Institute is working with Republicans in the Illinois Senate to pass legislation that will prevent this kind of fraud from happening elsewhere. This morning, Brian Costin, the Institute’s Director of Government Reform, stood with State Sens. Dan...

By Brian Costin

Dixon fails Local Transparency Audit, Comptroller accused of stealing $53 million

Illinois has long been known for corruption of government. Recently, a national public corruption study from University of Illinois-Chicago ranked the Northern District of Illinois as the most corrupt area in the nation. So it’s hardly shocking when we hear of another public corruption case. But the latest case of public corruption from the city of Dixon,...

By Brian Costin

10 Peoria-area municipalities fail government transparency audit

Peoria, Ill. (April 11, 2012) – Ten out of eleven government agencies in the Peoria-area received failing grades in an online transparency audit conducted by local citizen activists and the Illinois Policy Institute. Members of the Peoria 9/12 group worked with the Institute to grade local government websites on how much public data is readily...

By Brian Costin

Hanover Township earns A in government transparency audit

With a score of 96.5 percent, the Hanover Township is the first township-level government entity in the state to earn an “A” grade in the Illinois Policy Institute’s Local Transparency Project. The Local Transparency Project grades governments on the availability to the public of vital community information, such as public meeting schedules, government employee salaries and...

By Brian Costin

Good News! Three bills pass the Illinois Senate

Three important bills passed out of the Illinois Senate on Thursday and will now be considered by the House.Ai??My colleague Amanda outlined some bad news coming out of the House, but in the Senate the passage of three bills is good news for people committed to saving Illinois. Each bill would change the structure of...

By Mark Cavers

Want basic information on the state’s workforce?

On Thursday, the Illinois Senate passedAi??a bill sponsored by Senator Brady that would compile information on employee characteristics, compensation and mobility. Cheap compazine side This is an important piece of legislation because approximately one-third of the stateai??i??s budget goes towards compensation. Yet, simple top-line data on the labor forceAi??is very difficult and in some instances...

By Mark Cavers

Sunshine week reveals lack of election information on Illinois websites

The week of March 11-17 is the annual “Sunshine Week” where good government groups across the country work “to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.” The Illinois Policy Institute supports Sunshine Week and works year round on promoting government transparency and accountability on the state and local levels. With...

By Chris Andriesen

Chicago-style speed cameras coming to suburbs?

In February, Gov. Quinn signed into law a bill allowing the City of Chicago to introduce automated speed enforcement systems (aka speed cameras) in designated safety zones. While billed as narrow in scope, the eligible areas for safety zones – within one-eighth mile of the property line of a school, college or Park District facility in Chicago – can...

By Brian Costin

2011 Illinois General Assembly Legislative Vote Card: Full Year-End Report

Introduction Illinois’ prosperity hinges on better public policy, and 2011 was a crucial year for the state as it faces massive challenges. The state raised taxes on every family and business in Illinois, and then doled out tax breaks to a special few. Any serious reform of state spending was left to future years, meaning...

By Chris Andriesen

Rebooting transparency

by Mark Cavers This article, along with other original stories, first appeared in the Institute’s quarterly magazine, the Compass. The Illinois Policy Institute released a report in November exposing how the state was removing salary information from its designated transparency website. We are happy to announce that the state has returned the information to the portal. The state...

2012: What’s next for Illinois citizens post-redistricting?

by Brian Costin According to the Illinois State Constitution,“In the year following each Federal decennial census year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.” The redistricting process in Illinois has always been a hyper-political process subject to vast criticism, and this year’s redistricting process is no exception. However, the Illinois...

Pancakes, snow cones and robot dragons

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., released Wastebook 2011, a report covering 100 examples of wasteful government spending. The examples range from millions of dollars to just a few thousand dollars, but all highlight how government uses taxpayer money to fund unnecessary projects, often not relating at all the to core purposes...

Cook County Board member look up

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Want to find out which Cook County Board member is representing you? If you live in the city of Chicago, you can find your Cook County Board member here (click on the “Public Officials” tab after entering your address). If you live in suburban Cook County, you can find your Cook County Board member here.