Features

Spotlight on Spending

Check out the newest spotlight on spending covering traffic control aides in Chicago. Necessary? Some taxpayers don’t think so.

Check Out a New Paper on TIF Transparency!

Although tax increment financing (TIF) has been around for over thirty years, many people do not understand how it works, how it affects their communities or their pocketbooks. Most people have no idea a significant portion of their property taxes…

Government Spending Database Just for You, Taxpayer.

IllinoisOpenGov.org has launched!

Blago's Arrest -- Need More Convincing for Transparency?

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 Staff John Harris sounds another (HUGE) alarm for Illinois to implement transparency.

Will this be the tipping point?

Will our elected officials take…

Illinois Government Needs An X-Ray Machine

Imagine you’re about to have heart surgery. Would you want your doctor operating on your heart in the dark? Or without looking at your x-ray first? Without an x-ray, he wouldn’t know where to operate, the severity of your sickness…

“Who’s Posting?” list updated

We’ve updated our “Who’s Posting Expenditures in Illinois?” list today to include the Highland Park D133 school district and the Naperville Park District. View all of the government entities that are posting their check registers online here. Also,

“Who’s Posting?” list updated

We’ve updated our “Who’s Posting Expenditures In Illinois?” to include Coal City Community Unit School D1. We have also included links to the relevant pages on all entities that are already online. Those entities that have voted but are not…

The Right to Know…Or Not?

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was a great step forward for citizens as they sought to learn about the behavior of their government and hold it to account. FOIA allows people to request certain types of information from government…

“Who’s Posting?” list updated

We’ve updated our “Who’s Posting Expenditures In Illinois?” to include Oswego Community Unit School D308 and Proviso Township High School D209. Check out the full list here.

An Open Letter on Transparency by Kate Campaigne

I wrote this letter in the beginning of August 2008 to all public school districts in Illinois after discovering a new Illinois School Code (105ILCS5/10-20.40) requiring school districts to post all contracts over $25,000 on their websites. I wanted to…

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