Illinois Policy Institute releases statewide audit on government transparency

June 27, 2013

Ninety out of the 102 county-level governments in Illinois failed an online transparency audit, and at least 12 counties appear to be violating the Open Meetings Act, according to a special report released today by the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute.

The report, titled “Obstructed views: Illinois’ 102 county online transparency audit,” is the first in the state to take a close look at how much and what type of information is readily available to the public on local government websites. Unfortunately, the report found that almost all county-level government websites are missing vital community information, such as public meeting schedules, government employee salaries and tax rates, and some are even in violation of state transparency laws.

“With Illinois’ history of corruption, all levels of government should strive to improve transparency as much as possible. Putting information online is one of the easiest and most effective ways to accomplish this,” said Brian Costin, director of government reform at the Illinois Policy Institute, and author of the study. “But unfortunately, the Institute’s analysis found that too many county-level governments are falling short. We must change this. Changing Illinois’ culture of corruption starts with embracing transparency and accountability.”

Transparency scores were based on the Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist. Here are some key findings from the special report:

  • 22 out of 102 Illinois counties do not have a website
  • 90 out of 102 county-level governments failed the 10-Point Transparency Checklist
  • Only three counties scored a 90 percent or higher
  • 12 counties violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to post a calendar, agendas prior to a meeting and minutes of meetings online
  • 27 counties were in violation of the Freedom of Information Act by failing to post complete instructions on how to file a FOIA request
  • In four categories on the 10-Point Transparency Checklist (expenditures, compensation, contract and lobbying), more than 90 counties had failing grades

Some counties performed much better than others. Both DuPage and Will counties scored in the 90th percentile on the audit, and Kane County scored a perfect 100 percent.

The report is available online here.