Sunshine Standard
All interested in government transparency, check out this new site, sunshinestandard.org, created by Sunshine Review.
The website aims to provide citizens and elected officials with model legislation and tools to launch reforms and expand the amount of information available …
School Vendor Data Available on IllinoisOpenGov!
What is your school district spending money on?
Check out some new spending data available on our spending transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org.
We have included school vendor information for you to check out! We’ll also be updating current information …
Daley Proposes Dipping into TIF Reserves to Balance Budget
Mayor Daley went forward with his plans to use TIF reserves in order to “balance” his proposed FY2011 budget, leaving it to his future replacement to tackle the inherent problems that led the city into a deficit in …
Rahm on TIF
Not many people understand tax increment financing (TIF) very well, and the lack of transparency in the TIF process, particularly in Chicago, leaves many taxpayers unaware of exactly where TIF developments are located, how many tax dollars are going …
New Searchable Database for Cook County Lobbyists
Cook County will now provide a searchable online database regarding lobbyists’ activities, according to the Daily Herald.
School Districts: A Friendly Reminder
A friendly reminder to all school districts in Illinois:
HB2235 passed in August last year, giving all school districts in Illinois until July 1, 2010 to “report the base salary and benefits of the school superintendent, all administrators and …
Two Hundred Thousand Dollars Paid to Call Taker Trainees
Following up on yesterday’s blog which highlighted the State’s spending over $17 million on trainees in 2008, one group of trainees that deserves extra attention is the “call taker trainees.” In 2008, the State Toll Highway Authority paid eight call …
Chicago Transparency
Yesterday Mayor Daley announced updates and “improvements” to the City of Chicago’s website, saying these changes would make his administration more transparent. The site includes more data about Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, vendors, contracts, and city employees.
The site …
Medicaid Transparency Passes Both Houses
Medicaid Transparency (HB5241) has passed both Houses and now awaits a signature from the Governor. The Institute’s Kristina Rasmussen testified in support of this legislation, explaining how it would provide the following:
- Offer government administrators a valuable tool
…
Cook County Coffee Czar?
The media has been uncovering some interesting spending from Cook County’s newly launched check registry, such as this find from The Prairie Stater, which discovered $76,291 in checks paid to Elgin-based ACE Coffee Holdings, Inc. since December 2009.…
