Chairperson Silverstein, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Piercy, and I am the Director of Government Reform for the Illinois Policy Institute. We are a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to supporting free market principles and liberty-based public policy initiatives. The Institute conducts research and analysis on a variety of matters, including fiscal policy, education, government reform, health care, and transportation. You can learn more about our organization by visiting www.IllinoisPolicy.org.

I’m here today to support the recommendations put forward in HB 4836, which would create a Sunshine Commission and help make Illinois government operate more effectively and efficiently.

The state has already brought sunshine to its spending by creating an online accountability portal at Accountability.Illinois.Gov. Now, Illinois can take the next step and create a Sunshine Commission to review the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of state programs. Transparency through the online portal acts as an x-ray machine; a Sunshine Commission, meanwhile, would act as a scalpel and get rid of the waste.

By eliminating waste, state government would be able to focus more on doing a better job of performing its core services. A Sunshine Commission would help direct limited state resources to where they’re best used, offering a win-win situation for government, taxpayers, families and businesses. A Sunshine Commission would assist in reforming current Illinois government into a better, more accountable and open government.

In the spirit of continually working to improve and establish the most open, accountable and efficient government possible, the bill before you provides a much-needed reform tool for good government advocates. The Illinois House of Representatives passed this legislation unanimously – a strong indication of its widespread support. The future of HB 4836 is now in the Senate’s hands.

The Illinois Policy Institute applauds the Sunshine Commission Act (HB 4836), introduced by Representative David Reis and sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy, and encourages others to support it. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

Download a pdf of this testimony here.

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