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July 10, 2009 by
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Of the many beneficiaries of roughly $9 billion in Illinois taxes is the Illinois Arts Council (IAC), which is set to receive approximately $18 million for its various projects intended for the public. While every state has some kind of artistic initiative, what’s curious in Illinois is that the chairman of the IAC is Shirley Madigan, the wife of House Speaker Michael Madigan, and mother of Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
The extent of power of this family is extraordinary. Michael Madigan has presided as House Speaker for more than thirty years. Shirley Madigan has presided as chairman of the IAC for more than twenty years. And Lisa has presided as Attorney General for over six years. Furthermore, Shirley Madigan sits on the board of directors for Loyola University Chicago, the alma matter of both Michael and Lisa.
Also, Michael Madigan is the principal attorney at his firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, whose are comprised mostly of construction, development, and housing corporations. His firm has nearly 100 big name clients, yet only six attorneys, one of which is often preoccupied with presiding over the Illinois House of Representatives.
In 2006, Speaker Madigan authorized of $8 million to Loyola for various construction projects; a move that angered taxpayers whose public schools were simultaneously going broke.
Any speculation regarding self-dealing here is not surprising. In keeping up with the Madigans, I direct your attention to two websites. The first is , a database tracking the interconnections of the power players. The second is a list of all the represented by Michael Madigan’s half-dozen attorneys at Madigan & Getzendanner. Together, these two resources make connecting the dots much easier—and interesting.
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July 9, 2009 by
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A couple of few interesting updates…
* Our friends at posted a strong admonishment to and state on the this morning. Burns recently discharged Senator Thayer Verschoor (R-Gilbert) and Senate Majority Whip Pamela Gorman (R-Anthem) from their leadership positions after the senators voted against the Governor’s ill-advised legislation to increase AZ’s sales tax. Americans for Tax Reform set up an citizens can visit to speak out against the tax hike.
* Bob Weeks over at points out that Sedgwick County, Kansas has placed its . Inquiring minds can sort data by function, category, fund, or vendor.
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* The Ocean State Policy Research Institute is tracking RI stimulus spending through their newest website, .
* Duval County from , which was the given in the state of , and the only county that had complete information about lobbyists on its Web site. Only one Florida county, , should be embarrassed by not having a web presence.
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June 28, 2009 by
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The , uses information gleaned from transparency to help fight higher taxes. Who wants to give more money to a government agencies that have a history of waste and abuse?
Check out the project on Sunshine Review and do your part to ensure our government is responsive and accountable to its citizens.
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March 20, 2009 by
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Colorado SB 57, sponsored by Republican state senator Ted Harvey, would have required schools to post their spending reports online in a searchable database. Revolutionary? No. A good idea? You bet.
Unfortunately, Democrats didn’t think so, and it went down in the House Education committee in a party-line vote, 8-5. According to the , education associations contributed the following amounts to the committee members:
*Name of Rep – Total Amount from Education Lobby Organizations – Vote on SB 57
*Randy Baumgardner – $0 – Yes
*Debbie Benefield – $6,975 – No
*Tom Massey – $500 – Yes
*Michael Merrifield – $5,250 – No
*Karen Middleton – $3,125 – No
*Carole Murray – $0 – Yes
*Cherylin Peniston – $4750 – No
*Kevin Priola – $0 – Yes
*Christine Scanlan – $5,000 – No
*Sue Schafer – $5,750 – No
*Ken Summers – $0 – Yes
*Nancy Todd – $4,650 – No
*Judy Solano – $5,750- No
So do you think those contributions made a difference?
This is an embarrassment to Colorado. Shame, shame, shame on the reps that didn’t vote for open government during SUNSHINE WEEK of all times. I am guessing the voters in your districts may reward you with a similar “no” vote in your next election.
You can read all of the twists and turns at .
More on the education lobby’s strategy against SB 57 at the .
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March 16, 2009 by
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The Oklahoman printed an by Brian Downs from that advocated greater transparency at both the state and local government. They even cited , which sets a standard level of transparency for government websites.
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In difficult economic times, transparency is an easy answer to make sure taxpayers are getting enough bang for their buck. Groups like , , and are doing their part to remind government officials of that priority.
Related: Check out website.
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March 5, 2009 by
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Oklahoma Senator is a known crusader against wasteful, secret, and pork-barrel spending and earmarks. He did the nation a favor this week when he posted an section on his website.
Interesting facts about this legislation:
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According to CBO, the omnibus will cost $410 billion, $32 billion (8.4%) more than FY 2008 spending. The legislation is 1,128 pages long. Each page is equal to $363 million in spending.nexium online
• $19 billion (4.9%) more than President Bush’s request
• $19 billion (4.9% more than the cost of extending the continuing resolution
• $32 billion (8.4%) more than last yearnexium online
Total omnibus earmarks: 8,570
Total cost: $7.7 billionThe three previously enacted FY 2009 spending bills included a total of 2,321 earmarks, costing $6.6 billion.
Total FY 2009 earmarks: 10,891
Total FY 2009 earmark spending: $14.3 billion
Good grief.
H/T: - compiled
Also… as a plug for our friends at , Senator Coburn is the keynote speaker at a . I hope you will join me in supporting American Majority’s mission of recruiting activists that believe in fiscal restraint. Sen. Coburn could use some back-up!
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March 2, 2009 by
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Although national figures such as Barack Obama, John McCain, Tom Coburn, and Bobby Jindal have been forceful advocates for government transparency, the message doesn’t always seem to filter down to the municipal level. This morning, I began my workday by reading and an article in the nexium online by Helen Barrett titled ““. The article laments the lack of openness in the city council, including possible violations of the .
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Exactly.
But then… cities were somewhat redeemed in my mind when I saw a press release from , who is an outstanding up-and-coming public servant of . Mayor Cole commissioned a redesign of the recently, and proactively sought to include every single item on the .
Congratulations, Mayor Cole and the city of Carbondale, and thanks for restoring this transparency advocate’s faith in local governments. I guess now you aren’t only the “Capitol of Southern Illinois”, but also the current “Transparency Capitol of The Entire State of Illinois”. Now go have a Don Taco to celebrate.
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February 9, 2009 by
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Almost one year ago, I was present for a meeting between the and . The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how Caprio could best fulfill his campaign promise of increasing transparency for Rhode Islanders. Today, the plans discussed in that meeting have come to fruition in the , a tool that allows the public to view Treasury’s Accounts Payable expenditures.
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Exactly. I also was pleased to see that SR earned a spot in the for detailing . Rock on!
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February 5, 2009 by
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, President of , an organization working to preserve and expand initiative and referendum rights, addressed Colorado transparency in his today. I have copied it, with permission, below.
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Colorado’s state treasurer, Cary Kennedy, is on the hot seat. When running for office, he promised to make the state’s spending more transparent. He has not followed through.
In a different age, such dilatoriness might have been overlooked. Today, the very medium that makes it easy to report what is happening with taxpayers’ money, the Internet, also makes it easy to pressure delinquent officials.
There are websites. The one calling Kennedy to account is a blog called Colorado Spending Transparency. Or .
COST recalls that during his 2006 campaign for Colorado State Treasurer, Kennedy observed that when you buy groceries, the receipt shows what you bought. Kennedy, too, he said, would “show you where your money goes.”
Colorado does post its annual budget online. But the COST blog wants a detailed, searchable database, as fifteen other states have provided.
Representative Don Marostica, who also championed transparency in his 2006 campaign, introduced a bill to require such online itemizing. The bill never made it out of committee. Marostica had planned to re-introduce the bill until Governor Ritter stated in a recent speech that he would work with Treasurer Kennedy and others to put the state’s checkbook online.
COST says doing this will only reveal what the state paid, not necessarily what it paid FOR. COST wants the whole story. And will keep pressing until it gets it.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
You can check out information on the on Sunshine Review.