Our local government transparency partners often report that employee compensation is almost universally the most in-demand transparency suggestion from our 10-Point Transparency Checklist. Not only is public worker compensation regularly the No. 1 budget area for most local governments, but it is also an issue that virtually everyone can understand. For example, Cook County’s budget is...

The 2012 Illinois Piglet Book highlights nearly 200 examples of wasteful government spending totaling more than $354 million. Rock Island County, for example, spent $1,101 on lipstick tubes. The county also spent $6,250 on elephant consulting and $20,489 paid to Swine-time Pig Racing.

Property taxes are rising, state income taxes are higher, unemployment is nearly 9 percent and local governments are supposedly cash-strapped. Schools are cutting programs, and police and fire pensions are crowding out spending on core local services. Yet local governments continue to waste the money of hardworking Illinoisans. Each year local governments in Illinois make payments for a wide...

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...

by Kate Piercy Last week the Rock Island County Board decided to give its local elected officials significant pay raises, increasing some by more than $10,000 a year. The Illinois Policy Institute responded, calling on the county board to reverse the salary increases, stand up for fiscal responsibility, vote down the pay raises, and focus...