Open Illinois.org

Illinois state government has created a useful one-stop shop website at www.sunshine.illinois.gov with the goal of bringing more transparency to the workings of your state government.

According to the website, the state created this resource by starting with…

The January 2010 deadline has come and gone, yet we still don’t see legislators’ salary information posted on the state’s Illinois Accountability Portal.

If you’re interested in seeing salary information for all state employees — benefits data included…

For a look into Illinois state spending, check out the new transparency website, http://accountability.illinois.gov.

This site provides a good, first step towards more transparency in Illinois, but it still needs some work. For instance, it would be more…

On Tuesday, August 11, Governor Pat Quinn signed spending transparency legislation—requiring a public, accessible website listing all state expenditures for taxpayers to see—into law.

The bill, called the Illinois Accountability Portal (HB35), passed both the House and Senate unanimously on…

Open Illinois?

Governor Quinn has spoken about his support for transparency in the past…why is he waiting to sign the Illinois Accountability Portal (HB35), which awaits his signature after passing both the House and Senate in a unanimous vote?

Take…

Transparency bill HB35 passes both houses!

It’s a good day for Illinois — Rep. Mike Tryon’s transparency bill, HB35, has passed both houses — getting through the Senate unanimously after passing through the House unanimously on April 2, 2009.

Illinois…

Check out the recently published Illinois Commission on Government Reform’s report and recommendations for restoring Illinois here.

They make substantial recommendations about transparency measures Illinois should implement – at all levels of government. Good sign.

Their recommendations about…

It’s Sunshine Week, and newspapers are collectively highlighting the level of transparency–or lack thereof–in states nationwide.

Here’s a brief run-down of Sunshine Week editorials from Illinois newspapers.

Pantagraph: Illinois behind the times in making info available online

[Quinn] not only…

Can they overcome the “Springfield two-step?”

The  Illinois Reform Commission has all the right intentions, and fortunately, transparency sits at the top of their agenda. Transparency is the first step to reforming Illinois. You need to be able to see…

An update:

The transparency legislation introduced last year (HB4765) by Rep. Mike Tryon has been reintroduced as HB0035.You can find the legislation details here.

For some additional information about the bill, check out AFP’s site here.