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It seems Chicago is still in denial about the (former) Sears Tower name change to “Willis Tower.”  Numerous people have vowed not to accept the name and continue calling the tower by its traditional one.  But, as Willis CEO Joe…

The web is aflutter today with speculation about why the Obama administration’s midsummer budget update has not been released. Why would Obama, a self-proclaimed advocate of transparency, fail to inform the American people about what is happening with their tax…

Yesterday, Governor Quinn signed a $31 billion capital bill dubbed the “Illinois Jobs Now!” plan (colleague Jack McNeily explains the details).

This bill is a mixed bag, in terms of both its various projects and its approach to…

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…

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…

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…

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…

What happens when taxpayer money is allotted to the giant voids known as “operating budgets?”  A recent Wall Street Journal article provides clear story.  It cites many examples: a $22 cell phone holder, an $81 payment to a plant tender,…