City improves online transparency grade from a D to an A 

Transparency in government is one of the most effective and easiest ways to prevent corruption and enable active citizen participation in government. A recent analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute found that the city of Peoria has improved its online transparency score three grade levels from a D to an A since it was first scored in April 2012.

The Illinois Policy Institute’s “10-point Transparency Checklist” takes a close look at how much and what type of information is readily available to the public on local government websites. Peoria scored 92.2 out of 100 possible points on the audit that looked for vital community information, such as public meeting schedules, government employee salaries and tax rates, among other data necessary to keep citizens informed about their local government. This score is an impressive improvement from the failing score of 66.8 out of 100 points the city received in 2012.

“The city of Peoria has dramatically improved their website transparency since it was first graded in early 2012,” said Brian Costin, director of government reform at the Illinois Policy Institute.” Due to online transparency improvements, Peoria residents now have the opportunity to be educated participants in the local government decision making process and to proactively fight public corruption. Peoria is an online transparency leader setting an example for other communities across the state of Illinois.”

Each city’s transparency score is based on the 10-point Transparency Checklist. Here are some key findings from Peoria’s online transparency audit:

• Peoria scored 10 out of 10 possible points for elected and administrative official contact information
• Peoria scored 10 out of 10 possible points for city budget information
• Peoria scored 8 out of 10 possible points for public salary and benefits information
• Peoria scored 7.4 out of 10 possible points for information regarding lobbying

Complete coverage of the largest 25 municipal governments including Peoria is available online.