Open Illinois.org

Present the following question at your government body’s next meeting:

“Shall _____________ Township (and/or the City/Village of _______________) post all contracts and itemized expenses on their website(s) so that taxpayers can see how their money is being spent?”

*Note: the above language was used in Champaign, transparency successfully passed, and a referendum is now on the November 2008 ballot. A referendum is not always necessary, however. A county board can also, for example, vote on a transparency resolution and quickly transparency the policy of your government more quickly.

Helpful To-Do List:

1. Find out the time and place of your government’s annual meeting. You can call your township office and ask for this information.

2. Get on the agenda.

3. Ask your friends and neighbors to attend and show their support for good government.

4. Take copies of the resolution question, with the blanks filled in. Give one copy to the clerk to put into the record. Share other copies with meeting attendees to help them understand the question.

5. Be prepared to answer questions.

One possible objection: cost and time. The easiest way to document expenses is to post the check register in a PDF file. Creating a searchable PDF costs nothing and takes little time. It does not matter how large or small the jurisdiction, or how small or large the revenues. The budget information is already being compiled and simply needs to be posted online. The College of DuPage, for example, is the largest community college in the Midwest with a budget of $238 million, and implemented transparency with no cost. Most jurisdictions have websites already, so the space to post is already available.

Transparency benefits the entire community and the government. It builds trust, and makes government more accountable to the taxpayers funding it. Bringing more sunshine into the budget process helps eliminate waste, fosters more efficiency, and clarifies spending decisions for both the community and government alike.

By increasing transparency at the local level, we hope legislators will notice local support of transparency and implement transparency at the state level.