Without the quick release of government records on the program, there is no way to know whether or not the program is a success. The Obama administration and Department of Transportation are currently not cooperating with requests asking for the release of records, which clarify how much US car manufacturers are benefitting from the original $1billion allotted to the program.

This lack of transparency raises concern considering some lawmakers want to pump another $2 billion into the program. How is anyone supposed to know whether or not the program should have more money, if we have no way to measure its success or failure?  The Obama administration promised transparency, but so far the public has seen more closed than open government.

The website lists how much money each state agency in Illinois plans on receiving, has already received and how much each agency still has coming.  It also tells you who each state agency has contracted with and for what.

Reading these descriptions, however, reminds me of why many people consider the stimulus one giant pork bill. It also makes me question where our tax dollars are really being spent. Here are a few examples of some spending currently taking place:

• Illinois Department of State contracted with CDW Government, Inc. for “unclassified desktops and monitors.”
• An unidentified agency known on the website as “21” has contracted with Rock Island Integrated Services to “paint the exterior of garages.”
• Another unidentified agency known as “57” has contracted with IllinoisRocstar, LLC for “novel alternative energetic propellants for space propulsion.”
• The US Army Corps of Engineers contracted with Howell Paving, Inc. to resurface the Wilborn Creek parking lot and boat. They’ve also contracted with Arctic Ice, Inc. to rent an ice machine and purchase 150 bags of ice.

While it’s helpful to see these projects online, the website’s project descriptions are vague and difficult to understand. There are also projects completely missing descriptions! Does this website really provide the transparency Illinois and the stimulus bill need?

Check out the website and see if you can figure out what is happening in Illinois.

Not only does Alderman Schiller want to nearly double the TIF’s original budget by $54 million, but she’s still not giving any specifics about how the original $58 million is being spent.  This brings the total amount devoted to this non-transparent, unaccountable spending program to $112,000,000.

Fix Wilson Yard–a group devoted to representing the wishes of the community–wants to see the project stopped until the city of Chicago can develop a new plan that is transparent and guarantees the project will benefit the community.

Transparency in TIFs will help keep government accountable, give residents a role in decision-making, and ensure that the projects are the best for their communities. Learn more about transparency for TIFs by reading our report: Time to Throw a TIF!.

Illinois currently has 76 state agencies.  With such a high number, there is sure to be overlap and miscommunication between agencies. This makes it more difficult for Illinoisans to find the resources they need.

In order to prevent government redundancy and waste Illinois should consider integration of agencies that provide similar services.

Here are just a few ideas for agency, department and board integration or reorganization.

• Department of Health Care and Family Services, and Department of Children and Family Services: To more efficiently run these programs, the state could integrate child support division of the DHCFS into the DCFS. Health care programs in Illinois are so broad that they should be run by a department that is charged only with that issue and no others.
• Board of Education, Board of Higher Education, and Illinois Community College Board: These boards can all be integrated in to one Board of Education with various subdivisions for different levels of education. Not only will this make the departments more efficient, but it will create a better environment to for the boards to work together.
• Human Rights Commission and Department of Human Rights: The Department investigates and the Commission adjudicates.  These departments could be run more efficiently (especially cost wise) if they were under one system that was able to better to filter out extraneous cases.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Much more could be done to support accountability and transparency by not only integrating departments, but reorganizing and streamlining within each department.

While driving to Bartlett a few weeks ago, I saw a sign indicating the construction on the road was part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  In front of me I saw a stretch of orange pylons a mile or two long, but only 5 people working. I wondered how many tax dollars were flowing into this particular project that didn’t seem to be going anywhere quickly.

I visited Governor Quinn’s website, Recovery.Illinois.gov, to see what information I could find on that project or any other. While the site does give some details about how much money different government departments plan on receiving or asking for, I could not find anything that told me exactly what projects are in progress or have been completed.

Transparency requires more than putting up a website claiming dedication to transparency. Committing to transparency involves making information readily available for the public and as up-to-date as possible.  This way the public can hold government responsible for how well or poorly it’s performing.  Putting up totals for stimulus money by department is a start, but to really be transparent there needs to be a clear break down of every single dollar spent on each stimulus project.

Furthermore, for all the talk of transparency going on in Washington D.C., I have yet to find anything but estimations of how much federal stimulus money Illinois is receiving.

President Obama claims his stimulus package offers the best solution for helping America get through these hard economic times. How can we tell without transparency? There is no reason to keep spending details in the dark. Now more than ever, government needs to implement transparency to foster more accountability and shine light on spending decisions.

This would also be very useful to answer questions we all have: “Where is all my money going?” “Why is Quinn threatening to make huge cuts?” “Do they really need to raise taxes?”

But a “supernatural” power really isn’t needed to answer these questions. What is needed is government transparency.

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.  If every state legislator was handed a list of the wasteful spending done by this state, they would see that there is a huge amount of money being thrown away each year and maybe think twice before passing a budget that doesn’t propose any proper cuts in spending and better allocation of funds.

Since “supernatural” powers aren’t readily available, let’s hope that Illinois policy makers use their prudent judgment when they go to vote on a new budget.