Partly cloudy: Municipal online transparency scores vary widely
Improving government transparency is a year-round effort for the Illinois Policy Institute, but each year during Sunshine Week, we place a special focus on the issue. We celebrate Sunshine Week by releasing the latest round of Local Transparency Project audit results, this time measuring the transparency levels of some of Illinois’ largest municipalities, in relation...
Improving government transparency is a year-round effort for the Illinois Policy Institute, but each year during Sunshine Week, we place a special focus on the issue.
We celebrate Sunshine Week by releasing the latest round of Local Transparency Project audit results, this time measuring the transparency levels of some of Illinois’ largest municipalities, in relation to our recommended 10-Point Transparency Checklist best practices for local governments.
Specifically, we just completed an audit of the websites of the 26th through 50th largest municipalities in the state. Online transparency levels varied wildly from community to community. Scores ranged from Lombard’s perfect 100 percent to Romeoville’s dismal 29.7 percent.
Proactive online transparency is one of the best ways to give Illinois citizens the opportunity to be educated participants in local government, fight corruption and put a stop to wasteful spending.
The wide range of scores in this audit reinforces the need for comprehensive state online transparency standards for local governments. The state of Illinois sends more than $20 billion per year to local governments, and it needs to hold local governments accountable as to how that money is being spent. Every taxpayer should have equal access to the public information that shows how their money is being used.
Earlier this week, Illinois Policy Action launched the website openIllinois.org to give citizens the tools to urge state legislators support the Local Government Transparency Act through the Illinois General Assembly. The Local Government Transparency Act is based heavily on the Illinois Policy Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist.
Overall, 13 municipalities earned the Illinois Policy Institute’s Sunshine Award for scoring an 80 percent or better, including six new entities that won the award for the first time. The six new Sunshine Award winners include:
- Bartlett
- Belleville
- Buffalo Grove
- Carpentersville
- Park Ridge
- Plainfield
All of these municipalities worked closely with Illinois Policy Institute staff to upgrade their websites and give citizens better access to public information online.
Unfortunately, eight municipalities failed the online transparency audits, including:
- Normal
- Oak Park
- Moline
- Urbana
- Quincy
- Streamwood
- Carol Stream
- Romeoville
Communities that lack online transparency are vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse in the spending of taxpayer dollars. Governing behind closed doors disenfranchises citizens by making it harder for them to become educated participants in the local decision-making process.
Will County Auditor Duffy Blackburn has stressed the importance of online transparency by saying: “The perception of being detected is one of the strongest deterrents to fraud, according to fraud experts. This is why adopting a policy of transparency in governments, especially local governments, is so important.”
Sunshine Week’s message of transparency and accountability is call that Illinois legislators need to hear, especially given that Illinois has the third-highest level of public corruption countrywide. Please take a moment to visit the openillinois.org website and ask your state legislators to support the Local Government Transparency Act.