Institute in Daily Herald: A road map to transparency
Institute in Daily Herald: A road map to transparency
Only when our government leaders emphasize the importance of transparency in all they do will taxpayers truly benefit.
Seven DuPage County-area governments receive high marks in online transparency audit
Seven DuPage County-area governments receive high marks in online transparency audit
CHICAGO (Aug. 1, 2012) – In the latest round of online transparency audits conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute, only 13 of 22 local government agencies in the York Township-area in DuPage County received passing grades. In an effort to fight corruption and encourage public participation in government, the Illinois Policy Institute grades governments on...
Why is Lyons removing public documents from website?
Why is Lyons removing public documents from website?
“In 1990, Lyons police officers Donald Kroft and William Tweeter pleaded guilty to having sex with prostitutes in return for overlooking crimes at a suburban strip joint.” “Lyons Village President Kenneth Getty was convicted in 1998 of theft and money laundering for his role in a bid-rigging scheme involving two public works projects. 53 Prosecutors...
Kane County earns 100% in government transparency audit
Kane County earns 100% in government transparency audit
CHICAGO (June 26, 2012) – With the click of a mouse, residents in Kane County can find out when is the next county board meeting or what tax rates they pay. But in many counties across northern Illinois, this type of information is not readily available to the public. In the Illinois Policy Institute’s latest...
Spenders and Savers: A Look at Illinois’ Congressional Delegation
Spenders and Savers: A Look at Illinois’ Congressional Delegation
A National Taxpayers Union Foundation report looks at what Illinois' Members of Congress want to do with your tax dollars.
Orland Township, Tinley Park, Orland School District 135 and Orland Fire receive high marks in transparency audit
Orland Township, Tinley Park, Orland School District 135 and Orland Fire receive high marks in transparency audit
CHICAGO (May 18, 2012) – The village of Tinley Park, Orland Township, Orland School District 135 and the Orland Fire Protection District all received high marks in an online transparency audit conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute. These Orland Township-area governments join the Village of Orland Park, who maintained a score of 100 percent from...
Why does Illinois need grant transparency?
Why does Illinois need grant transparency?
Grant transparency in Illinois is vital to ensure that state spending is being used as efficiently and effectively as possible. Amendment 2 to Senate Bill 3773 would strengthen the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal statute to include grant recipient information collection and reporting. What would this bill do? It would post the purpose and results of grants to nonprofit...
Letting in sunshine – Grant reporting and documentation would improve Illinois’ online transparency portal
Letting in sunshine – Grant reporting and documentation would improve Illinois’ online transparency portal
The problem In fiscal year 2011, the state handed out more than $1.1 billion to nonprofit organizations across the state in the form of 1,636 grants. While taxpayers can access online how much money was spent on these grants, it’s difficult for them to find out what the grants were for and if the grants...
Want more transparency? Union says “no”
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
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...
Dixon fails Local Transparency Audit, Comptroller accused of stealing $53 million
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,...
10 Peoria-area municipalities fail government transparency audit
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...
Hanover Township earns A in government transparency audit
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...
Good News! Three bills pass the Illinois Senate
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...