According to the Little Black Pearl website, its mission “is to create opportunities for youth and adults to deepen their creative involvement through the arts, cultivate their entrepreneurial skills and use the arts as a means for economic empowerment and community transformation.”

The grant was part of the DCEO’s Grant Management Program, which provides grants “for specific purposes to bolster the State’s economy, promote a clean environment and improve the overall quality of life throughout the State of Illinois.”  How does an industrial art studio improve the overall quality of life in Illinois or bolster the state’s economy? This sounds like another example of poor spending of taxpayers’ money by the DCEO and highlights, again, why Illinois is 48^th in economic performance and 47^th in economic outlook compared to the other states.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to “Checks to Businesses & People,” under the “Department” section search “Commerce and Economic Opportunity,” under the “Vendor” section search “Little Black Pearl Workshop.”

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to “Checks to Businesses & People”  Under the “Department” section search Dept. of Commerce, under the “Vendor” section search Chicago Horticultural Society.

According to the Sun-Times, several anti-violence groups waiting for millions in payments from the state are “confused” and “dismayed” by this new program.  Rather than pay overdue bills to these groups, the state appears to be spending money on a new initiative that intends to accomplish similar goals.

Illinois has the worst record when it comes to paying its bills to non-profits.  According to a recent study by the Urban Institute, 72 percent of Illinois non-profits reported late payments from the state.

To find this information on IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to “Checks to Businesses & People”.  Under the “Department” section search Dept. of Commerce, under the “City” section search Chicago, and under the “Amount in Range” section search more than $150,000.

The costs of Medicaid in Illinois have also been rising rapidly recent years and are expected to rise another 7% in 2010.  Medicaid is slowly crowding out other state expenditures such as education, public safety, and transportation.

There are several proposals to help control the cost of Medicaid including Medicaid Health Accounts and promoting greater transparency in the program to help administrators identify cost savings.  Read about other specific recommendations on how to reform Medicaid in the Illinois Policy Institute’s Legislator’s Guide to the issues.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean wage for state police and sheriff patrol officers is $58,860 nationally.  The average wage of an Illinois State Police Employee is $75,758.87, which is 28.7% more than the national average.

To find this information on IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to “Payroll” and search “Dept. of State Police” under “Department”.

Meanwhile, Chicago Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell has decided on a different approach.  He explains in the Sun-Times:

In these tough economic times, tough decisions are going to have to be made and we want [residents] to be part of telling us what their priorities are…I think in these economic times it’s not right to raise property taxes.

The Chicago Park District is an independent taxing authority, separate from the City of Chicago.  It has an estimated budget of $400 million but also has an estimated $22 million budget gap for next year.  Mitchell plans to close the gap without raising property taxes.

Mitchell’s approach is to ask residents what park projects are most important to them and then prioritizing spending accordingly.  This approach makes the budget process more transparent and encourages public involvement in local government.

The City of Chicago as well as the state government could benefit from such a novel approach to budget planning.

According to Cook County, its Open County Initiative website “provides easy access to areas of information, records and data transparency throughout the county and “additional information will be included as it is made available online.”

Check it out and see what you think.

Although state law requires Quinn to give his address next Wednesday, he has asked for more time. Yet, House and Senate members can’t seem to agree on “how far to push the speech back – either earlier or later in March,” reports Keith.

Quinn prefers to give his budget address on March 10 and sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday saying “he’ll put information online for lawmaker and public perusal to set up the next year’s budget” and the site “will include a detailed look at revenues and spending for the current budget year and estimated revenues and spending obligations for the next budget year.”

Will we get to see such budget transparency?

Quinn claims he “will solicit public comments at his budget office’s Web site — http://budget.Illinois.gov — and use feedback to shape his budget plans presented two weeks later,” and wrote “A budget that reflects input from the people of Illinois will be a better budget for the people of Illinois.”

Will this be another step in the direction of transparency for the state of Illinois? Who will provide feedback and who will the state listen to?

Liberty Leaders, take note.



Taxpayers have no idea how this money is being spent, but they have every right to know who received what loans, how much, why, and for what collateral, as Matthew Winkler notes in today’s Wall Street Journal.

Apparently, the Fed doesn’t think taxpayers have any business asking for this information, and “went to court to resist giving an accounting of its actions under the Freedom of Information Act. The request was filed by Bloomberg News through its parent, Bloomberg LP.”

According to Winkler, “The issue at stake here is understanding the financial crisis and its aftermath. The information Bloomberg is seeking is vital to that, and it belongs to all Americans. Bloomberg isn’t alone in saying so. Dow Jones, the New York Times, the Associated Press, Gannett Newspapers, Hearst, Advance Publications, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have all expressed support for Bloomberg’s efforts and may join a friend-of-the-court brief if the decision is appealed.”

Transparency provides the tool to measure the effectiveness of money, and right now, taxpayers have absolutely transparency from the Fed. The Fed has failed to explain where all the taxpayers’ money has gone or provide any metrics to help determine whether the bailouts have worked well, poorly, or not at all. Without transparency, there’s no accountability.

Winkler suggests this is a prime occasion for Obama to keep his word on transparency — because “So far, there has been far too little accountability at the Fed for how it used taxpayer money to save banks that failed their shareholders and creditors by making bets that didn’t pay off.”

Fiscal irresponsibility got us into the financial downturn. It’s past time for creating a system to measure government spending and its results, and instill some accountability in those spending taxpayers’ hard earned money.