Burnham shuts down public website for ‘maintenance’ in wake of corruption scandal

In the wake of a corruption scandal, the village of Burnham has taken down all public information from its website and placed the site in “Maintenance Mode.” The scandal came about after the village’s former clerk pleaded guilty to stealing more than $700,000 from local taxpayers, and an online transparency inquiry by the Illinois Policy...

In the wake of a corruption scandal, the village of Burnham has taken down all public information from its website and placed the site in “Maintenance Mode.”

The scandal came about after the village’s former clerk pleaded guilty to stealing more than $700,000 from local taxpayers, and an online transparency inquiry by the Illinois Policy Institute found that the village wasn’t complying with key transparency laws.

The Institute’s recent audit of Burnham’s website showed the village had stunningly poor online transparency practices and failed to follow basic Illinois website transparency laws. The village scored 15.9 percent out of a possible 100; but now it would be a zero.

It’s hard to believe it’s just a coincidence that Burnham’s website has been shut down just days after a corruption scandal breaking and the Institute filing a formal review of their website with the Public Access Counselor.

Why shut it down? What do they have to hide?

In the wake of a corruption scandal, Burnham should be increasing website transparency – not eliminating it.

A University of Illinois-Chicago anti-corruption study stated: “Suburban governments should increase transparency to hold government officials accountable for the decisions they make on the job. Access to information can help combat corruption in suburbs. Greater transparency can deter police misconduct and can discourage officials from only awarding contracts to the politically connected firms. It can give a sense of clean and efficient government to their respected towns.”

Unfortunately, Burnham’s response to its corruption scandal has been to restrict public access to information even more.

The Institute has filed a Request for Review with the Illinois Public Access Counselor in efforts to have Burnham post information that is legally required. Hopefully, this serves as a wakeup call to them.

The Institute has also filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the village to provide us with access to all documents on the Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist. If Burnham refuses to post these documents online, we will.

The citizens of Burnham deserve better, especially after being victimized by public corruption for the better part of the last decade.

The village should restore public access to the website immediately and comply with Illinois website transparency laws.