A few moths later in July 2009, the filed suit in the Cook County Circuit Court saying the Stroger administration is in violation of the for “stonewalling” the organization’s cellphone records request. The BGA had requested the cellphone records of Stroger and key staff connected with a scandal involving the hiring of an ex-convict to see how much taxpayer money was involved in resolving the scandal. The county has argued against releasing the documents saying it would be “” and interfere with an ongoing criminal investigations related to the cases.

That may have been true. Regardless, the frequent hits at the legitimacy of Stroger’s work would have benefit from a little sunshine. In the information age, public figures cannot afford to keep taxpayers in the dark: we won’t stand for it.

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A google news search for “” in the past week gets more than 24,500 results. About 5000 of these are comprised of “,” probably spurred by his . This accounts almost 20% of the hits for ‘transparency’ alone.

But the existence of the other 80% shows that transparency is a topic on the minds of many outside of the current news cycle.

This may be due largely in part to the fact that information is so easily accessible today, so candidates are forced the face the question: you can provide the voters information and make it available online—?

In state and local campaigns, this couldn’t be clearer. The state comptroller race, for example, has with one candidate being focused on a favorite of Sunshine Review staff, usability:

For the GOP, Dodge wants to make the comptroller’s Web site more user friendly, citing the difficulty of trying to find out how much a company earns from the state.

You can have all of the documents in the world on your website, but it doesn’t mean a thing if they can’t be found.

The races for the and for the have also had the discussion turn to transparency.

Those who have been losing popularity points know to jump on the bandwagon. Todd Stroger has been asking his opponents to follow in his footsteps by releasing their tax returns. For Stroger, it may be too little too late, with opponents calling this a “publicity stunt.” Still, others should learn from his lesson, and deliver on their promises of transparency, or be prepared to pay the price on polling day. Transparency as an important issue for candidates for public office is here to stay.

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Of the many beneficiaries of roughly $9 billion in Illinois taxes is the Illinois Arts Council (IAC), which is set to receive approximately $18 million for its various projects intended for the public. While every state has some kind of artistic initiative, what’s curious in Illinois is that the chairman of the IAC is Shirley Madigan, the wife of House Speaker Michael Madigan, and mother of Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The extent of power of this family is extraordinary. Michael Madigan has presided as House Speaker for more than thirty years. Shirley Madigan has presided as chairman of the IAC for more than twenty years. And Lisa has presided as Attorney General for over six years. Furthermore, Shirley Madigan sits on the board of directors for Loyola University Chicago, the alma matter of both Michael and Lisa.

Also, Michael Madigan is the principal attorney at his firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, whose are comprised mostly of construction, development, and housing corporations. His firm has nearly 100 big name clients, yet only six attorneys, one of which is often preoccupied with presiding over the Illinois House of Representatives.    

In 2006, Speaker Madigan authorized of $8 million to Loyola for various construction projects; a move that angered taxpayers whose public schools were simultaneously going broke.

Any speculation regarding self-dealing here is not surprising. In keeping up with the Madigans, I direct your attention to two websites. The first is , a database tracking the interconnections of the power players. The second is a list of all the represented by Michael Madigan’s half-dozen attorneys at Madigan & Getzendanner. Together, these two resources make connecting the dots much easier—and interesting.

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The Springfield, IL State-Journal Register printed an , the Sam Adams Alliance communications director, on Open IL Week. Open IL Week was actually last week, but any recognition of efforts to hold elected officials accountable on transparency is timely, especially at the end of the state legislative session.

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Check out the project on Sunshine Review and do your part to ensure our government is responsive and accountable to its citizens.

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Here are a few transparency updates from around the nation.

* ILLINOIS: The buy cialis started an to display “Strategy, help and stories about getting public information in Illinois”. Good move from the Trib, since Chicago’s Mayor Daley .

Another IL piece worth reading is the . It mentions that Mill Creek Special Service Area is “absolutely deficient” when graded on the standards set forth in the .

* MICHIGAN: The Clare Sentinel published an excellent letter to the editor titled, “.” The letter demonstrates that school transparency is much easier than most people think. It takes just minutes per day!

* OKLAHOMA: , a fiscal watchdog group, lamented the lack of county transparency in the Sooner State, and regarding school districts.

* TENNESSEE: Governor Phil Bredesen , , that increases transparency by listing vendor payments and employee travel reimbursements and salaries.

* FEDERAL: President Obama is . According to the Heritage Foundation, these regulations make union officials more accountable to union members and deter fraud and embezzlement.

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Just when I think Illinois is finally on the right track, I take a quick look at the headlines and my hopes are dashed. What’s today’s news? Well, pork and hidden information.

The in the federal budget have finally been released. In my opinion, these are among the most outrageous:

* $237,500 for the repair and restoration of the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet
* $95,000 for History Makers, Chicago, for a digitization project
* $49,000 for security cameras for Jasper County School District
* $47,500 for the Easter Seals’s playground expansion and remodeling project in Ottawa
* $900,000 for astronomy equipment in Adler Adler Planetarium ()
* $786,000 for salaries and expenses for crop production and food processing in Peoria
* $2,077,000 for salaries and expenses for National Center for Food Safety and Technology

Let me say this: I am fundamentally against earmarks. However, I understand they were the grease in the wheels of Obama’s budget legislation. I get it. What I DON’T get is why my tax dollars are funding theaters, digitization projects, security cameras for a with 3300 students, playgrounds, astronomy equipment, salaries, and operational expenses. Local projects should be funded with local money. State projects should be in the regular budget of its parent agency. If a congressman has ideas on how to prioritize, he or she should sit down with agency staff and have those discussions.

And… as if the pork isn’t enough, is refusing to release audit findings and financial reports of a trust fund believed to be worth $300 million. The fund used to be administered by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association (IFDA), but was taken over by the comptroller’s office. Funeral directors fear financial mismanagement will leave them on the hook for millions of dollars. The :
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Why won’t Hynes release the documents? Well, his financial information officer says it’s that pesky that doesn’t mandate their release. This subterfuge is twice as frustrating when a person realizes that Hynes has been in Illinois for putting a contracts/campaign contribution database online. In fact, , Hynes states:
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has an idea of how to go about that.

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I’m glad someone gets it.

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Although national figures such as Barack Obama, John McCain, Tom Coburn, and Bobby Jindal have been forceful advocates for government transparency, the message doesn’t always seem to filter down to the municipal level. This morning, I began my workday by reading and an article in the buy cialis by Helen Barrett titled ““. The article laments the lack of openness in the city council, including possible violations of the .

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Exactly.

But then… cities were somewhat redeemed in my mind when I saw a press release from , who is an outstanding up-and-coming public servant of . Mayor Cole commissioned a redesign of the recently, and proactively sought to include every single item on the .

Congratulations, Mayor Cole and the city of Carbondale, and thanks for restoring this transparency advocate’s faith in local governments. I guess now you aren’t only the “Capitol of Southern Illinois”, but also the current “Transparency Capitol of The Entire State of Illinois”. Now go have a Don Taco to celebrate.

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Today, Cook County Board member Tony Peraica for

John Tillman, President of the , accurately stated:

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Other things to throw up on the Cook County website are lobbying contracts and information on how to file a .

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The buy cialis came out with their today when they published the names of the that voted against giving Illinois voters the option of recalling their elected officials. Much to my delight, it came with a complimentary “happy new year” verbal thrashing as well.

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NICE!!!

And, here is the list of

*Michael Bond
*James Clayborne Jr.
*Jacqueline Collins
*John Cullerton
*James DeLeo
*Deanna Demuzio
*William Haine
*Don Harmon
*Mike Jacobs
*Emil Jones Jr.
*Kimberly Lightford
*Terry Link
*Iris Martinez
*James Meeks
*Antonio Munoz
*Michael Noland
*Kwame Raoul
*Heather Steans
*John Sullivan
*Donne Trotter
*A.J. Wilhelmi
*Gary Forby (D) [did not vote]
*Mattie Hunter (D) [did not vote]
*Martin Sandoval (D) [did not vote]
*Louis Viverito (D) [did not vote]
*Chris Lauzen (R) [not present]

I hope the buy cialisremembers to publish those names again prior to the election, and when their ed board meets to make endorsements for 2010 and 2010. Based on this paragraph… buy cialis

I think we can assume they will.

To learn about Recall, visit .

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