The Sears Tower has long stood as a beacon of Chicago – and Illinois at large. Rising above the clouds, the magnificent steel structure enamors residents and tourists alike. Yet recently, the building’s management has taken it a step further…
Open Illinois.org
Shining light on Illinois government
How long will it take Governor Quinn to sign the Illinois Accountability Portal into law?
By May 15, 2009, both houses of the General Assembly passed the Illinois Accountability...
It’s time to throw a TIF!
Kate has a great new paper out today on TIFs (tax increment financing districts), and how they’re desperately in need of transparency. Check...
Blago’s Arrest — Need More Convincing for Transparency?
In case there weren’t enough alarms ringing already, the arrest of Governor Blagojevich and his Chief of...
Look to Cut First
Government transparency would help lawmakers and citizens see that Illinois doesn’t need more money, it needs less spending. The state of Illinois needs to think about some serious cuts in spending before it even hints at possibly raising taxes.
Olympic planning needs more transparency
The Chicago Tribune ran a story today, noting the call for greater openness in Olympic bid considerations made by City Halls’ Inspector General, David Hoffman.
Hoffman, concerned by the apparent privacy with which Mayor Daley and the Chicago 2016 Committee are operating,…
Transparency: can Quinn walk the talk?
A blog post on some of President Obama’s recent policies reminds us of how politicians can say one thing and practice another when it comes to transparency. At the end of the day, transparency is easy to talk about, but much harder…
Chicago Tribune Prepares for FOIA Legal Battle
Today, the Chicago Tribune filed suit against the University of Illinois for student records that may have had a role in questionable admissions standards. It started out as a simple Freedom of Information Act request, which are intended to be very…
Keeping an Eye on Earmarks
The State Journal-Register has a good article today about transparency in the lawmaking/earmarking process.
Perhaps one of the best proposals is a twenty day time period where such earmarks can be evaluated by the public. Government bureaucrats take there time with just…
House campaign reform bill passes
In what might be slightly overlooked from last week’s legislative session because of the tax hike bill, the House passed a campaign reform bill 64-46 largely along party lines. The bill, backed by Gov. Quinn and sponsored by House Speaker…
Transparency Reveals the Good and the Bad
Liberty Leader Scott O’Connell sent us a copy of this letter below, which is from a gentleman who sued to obtain access to the Wheaton School District 200 superintendent’s salary. This should highlight and provide yet another reason why transparency…
“New FOIA means more work for governments”…not necessarily
In the aftermath of a new FOIA law passing both houses of the General Assembly–and currently sitting on Governor Quinn’s desk–the Northwest Herald today wrote a lengthy article about how the new law means more work for local governments, some of which…
Keep writing…
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” The newspapers would have made Jefferson proud…
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