Tag: Sunshine Review

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government transparency

We’re Number Two

Congratulations to Champaign County, Illinois, for having the second-​best website vis-​à-​vis being open about government doings. The recognition comes from Sunshine Review, a project of the Chicago-​based Sam Adams Alliance.

But, before we break out the champagne, how come Champaign County is only number two in the rankings? Simple. The number-​one site is published by DuPage County, a much larger county with presumably a lot more resources.

Champaign County no longer prints dead-​tree copies of its budget. It posts the entire 500-​page document online, along with labor contracts, meeting agendas, and even audio recordings of some meetings.

They’re doing a great job. And with 102 counties in the state, they must have had a lot of competition, right? Well … not exactly. According to Sunshine Review, 42 Illinois counties don’t even have a website. Of those that do, 27 don’t post meeting schedules or minutes. More than 40 don’t disclose budget and audit info.

Sunshine’s Isabel Santa says there’s “no excuse for a county not to have a website. One of the key things Champaign is doing is providing budgets and audits, and that’s what people want to know, where their tax dollars go.”

Once Sunshine assesses the transparency of Illinois government entities, it plans to tackle the rest of the states. Don’t wait, officials. Get those sites functional right now. Let the people know what you’re up to openly and
honestly.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
government transparency

No Taxation Without Information

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Amy Oliver is a blogger after my own heart. In a post entitled “No taxation without information!” she reports that she is adopting the motto of a new campaign sponsored by the Sunshine Review.

The campaign promotes what Amy ironically calls a “crazy idea”: that taxpayers should know how government is spending their money.

To this end, the Sunshine Review, sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance, is launching a collaborative “My Government” website. It aims to host Web pages on every city, county, school district, and state agency in all 50 states. Providing key information that governments should be making available already, but aren’t. (Speaking of full disclosure, I should probably admit that I’m a senior advisor with Sam Adams Alliance.)

Amy’s new mission is to persuade her town, Greeley, Colorado, her local school district, her county, and the state of Colorado to post their check registries on the Web in a searchable database. She wants to know where the money is going in precise detail — “not just from some annual report that breaks down a budget by category.” The check registries are already a matter of public record, but it can be cumbersome to gain access to them.

Amy thinks taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. Also, of course, easy access to this information would allow citizens to take action if they spy expenditures that seem dubious or even downright dirty.

Good luck, Amy.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.