Jerry Moore: Web site promotes more transparency in

government

By Jerry Moore

GateHouse News Service

Fri Jul 11, 2008, 01:27 PM CDT

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. - Improving government on all levels requires access to information and the willingness to act on it.

Adam Andrzejewski of Elmhurst has taken a huge step in ensuring that first step is met. Last year, he founded For the Good of Illinois to create more transparency in taxing bodies.

“For all of 2007, I researched the performance of Illinois government. What I discovered was disheartening,” he said. “The entrenched Illinois political class has not served our state well. The elected officials of Illinois are not solving the troubles of our state.”

Andrzejewski’s research uncovered some disturbing statistics about Illinois: We are No. 1 in the nation in juvenile violent crime, No. 2 in state debt ($106 billion) and No. 3 in gambling revenue (behind only Nevada and New Jersey). What’s more? There were 569 public officials in the state convicted of corruption last year. Eighth-grade reading scores have dropped 20 percent in the past four years, and the highest Illinois has ranked in job growth in the past 15 years is 44th out of the 50 states.

For the Good of Illinois, a nonprofit, has begun urging school districts to post their check registries online, to initiate what the group calls its Open Book Revolution. This would allow taxpayers to see every expense paid by the districts within a specified time.

Andrzejewski worked with David Carlin, a trustee at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, to enhance the information regarding board meetings that COD already had put online. With a budget of $238 million, COD is the largest academic institution in the state to post its check registry online, Andrzejewski said.

Other districts now posting their check registries online include Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 ($109 million budget), Consolidated School District 158 in Huntley ($72 million budget) and Community High School District 94 in West Chicago ($29 million budget), according to the site.

Getting school districts to freely show how they’re spending taxpayer money is a good start, but it’s only a beginning. The next step is for people to act on the information they have.

Go to www.ForTheGoodOfIllinois.org to see who’s doing what. Most important, let your elected officials know that you’re watching how they’re spending your money and that you demand accountability. Officials need to be reminded on occasion to act in your best interests — so keep pushing.