ILLINOIS SCHOOL TRANSPARENCY HONOR ROLL

25 School Districts with Total Budget of $1.903 Billion!

By: Adam Andrzejewski
September 3, 2008

UPDATE:  October 20, 2008-
34 Illinois School Districts for over $2.2 billion in total budget have adopted check register transparency!  AND GROWING!

Illinois is now 2nd in the country in education transparency!  Pioneering Illinois transparency, the Illinois School Transparency Honor Roll tracks the progress of the revolution at www.ForTheGoodOfIllinois.org . Currently, 25 districts with total annual budget of $1.903 billion have adopted online posting of their check registry.  According to the National School District Honor Roll, Illinois trails only Texas in the number of school districts who post their check registers online. 

A good government is transparent with financial activity, empowers citizens to be a part of the process, and the leaders of a good government are accountable for their decisions.  Transparency creates the environment for good government and Illinois school districts are the leading models of the movement.  School districts are spearheading the “Transparency Test” in Illinois government.

Aurora, Bond County, Bourbonnais, Carpentersville, Elmhurst, Herscher, Genoa, Kingston, Harlem, Huntley, Mahonet- Seymour, Mundelein, Niles, Green Oaks, Oak Park, Ottawa, Palatine, Braidwood, Sherrard, Valley View, Waukegan, West Chicago, and Wheaton-Warrenville in addition to the community colleges of College of DuPage and Illinois Valley Community College-  are leading Illinois in the good government movement.  These schools practice what they teach in their classrooms.  Is your school on the list?

Illinois citizens are generous to public education.  Spending $22 billion to educate 2 million children this year, Illinois property taxes are the 8th highest in the country!  Where is the money being spent?  Transparency of financial information provides the answer.

Online posting builds trust by showing taxation with information.
Patriots fought to end taxation without representation and brought forth a democracy that would engage average, working class people in the governing process.  In many units of Illinois government, taxation is occurring without information.  A government that consistently increases taxes but never fights to decrease spending is not by, of and for the taxpayer.

Posting information now is cheaper than providing the same information later. 
When government complies with a Freedom Of Information Act request only actual costs of duplication can be charged.  Thus, the costs of mailing the information, the costs of mailing responses, employee time associated with creating, filling, and mailing the requests can never be recouped.  The more information the government posts online the less it has to pay someone to provide at a future date.

Posting online spurs competition resulting in cost reduction. 
While government bodies must bid out contract above $10,000, many government expenditures are not competitively reviewed.  Posting the check register provides a means for local companies to see what services a school utilizes below the bidding threshold.  If a local company can provide the same or better quality of services for a better price, the district should use the vendor.

Adoption of transparency is a no cost resolution, as the preparation of the check registry is already being done for monthly board meetings. 

Adoption of transparency requires no change in the law only a small change in school district policy.  This new policy proactively posts financial information online versus the walls and hurdles of the Freedom of Information Act requests. 

Adoption of transparency makes maximum use of the existing website and infrastructure of the school.

ASK YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO POST THEIR CHECK REGISTER ON THE INTERNET.
If the people lead, the leaders will follow.  We can tell the political elites beholden to the insiders, deal cutters, cronies, and influence peddlers that average does it.  We can tell the political elites that what is needed are regular people with common sense.  Illinois needs the fresh air of the ordinary and straightforward. The average person can change Illinois for the better.

For The Good Of Illinois