Too much of a good thing… is a good thing.
8 October, 2008
I was perusing the new and fabulous Open Illinois blog when I came upon a post describing the bullying tactics Ridgewood High School District 234 is using against Riccardo A. Mora of Norridge, Illinois. Mr. Mora’s offense? Too many FOIAs, that is, he requested 21 Freedom of Information requests since February 08.
“I decided to investigate, gather facts and quotes from reliable sources…[and present] that information to my neighbors for their consideration,” says Mora.
Mora requested numerous items from the school district, including expenditures, capital plans, audits, and notices. He is interested in seeing just how the district spends taxpayers’ money prior to a November vote that will determine whether property taxes will increase to fund the schools.
Wow- using public information gathered from the school district to become informed on a bonding-type issue seems… radical? The school board apparently thought so, as they retained the services of the Schartz, Lipton and Taylor law firm of Chicago to deal with Mr. Mora’s FOIA requests. The firm sent a letter letting Mr. Mora know they are keeping an eye on him.
Your numerous FOIA requests demonstrate that you are mis-using FOIA as a vehicle to address personal issues rather than public interest…The use of FOIA to further a personal rather than public need is clearly an abuse of the Act…We are writing at this time to make you aware that we will work closely with the District to scrutinize and future FOIA requests propounded by you upon the District to insure they are within the spirit of the Act.
Read the rest of the law firm’s letter here.
Mis-using FOIA? What is the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act? Well, in Illinois, the purpose can be found in Section 1:
Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest.
(emphasis mine)
Sounds like Mr. Mora is doing exactly what the Act was designed to enable- citizen activism and oversight. Here’s an idea: Ridgewood High School District 234 should volunteer to be more open with taxpayers, so FOIAs aren’t necessary to see how their tax dollars are spent. (See the Sunshine Review transparency checklist for ideas.)
Furthermore… schools should consider teaching children how to petition their government through FOIA requests as a way to bring civics back into the classroom. This would promote citizen involvement and allow more people to keep and eye on what’s happening behind the doors of government. After all, Responsible Citizens = Responsive Government.
Empower Texans Asks the Tough Q’s on Education Funding
21 August, 2008
I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight “Empower Texans” and their campaign to bring accountability and transparency to all levels of government in Texas.
Recently, Empower Texans, posted the first in what the organization promises to be a series of hard hitting videos and public statements asking the tough questions about what exactly are the taxpayers of Texas are getting for their dollars in education and other government services.
This video is about 8 minutes in length and I encourage you to take a look even if you do not live in Texas because every taxpayer should be asking these types of questions from their elected officials.
In case you do not know much about Empower Texans, their website states Empower Texans exists “to create and sustain a system of strong fiscal stewardship within all levels of Texas government, ensuring the greatest amounts of economic and personal liberty, and promoting public policies that provide individuals with the freedom to use their strengths and talents in pursuit of greater opportunities.”
They accomplish this goal by informing “voters, taxpayers and elected officials about policy solutions that are consistent with the principles of individual liberty and free markets, while working to build support for those policies among key constituencies.”
It is great to see citizens and organizations fighting for liberty and free-market principles.
Children shorted in IL political payback
22 July, 2008
From the files of “Coulda Seen That One Comin’”…
Illinois distributed $20,000 grants to 89 organizations to assist with after-school tutoring for the 2007-08 school year. Unfortunately, a Chicago Tribune investigation of 48 of the grant recipients found that about half of those 48 organizations were not running programs, and a third were under the care of a person with less-than-stellar financial histories.
All of the questionable projects share the same sponsor: West Side Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), who awarded many grants to campaign workers and donors, the investigation found.
The state board tried to tighten the grant process after the Tribune first raised questions about it two years ago. But lawmakers and education officials have continued to award the grants.
The oversight remains so feeble, in fact, that education officials in three cases handed out money to programs where felons, one a convicted murderer, worked with children. The state contract bars such convicts from doing so.
Education officials also didn’t heed red flags in the applications. Grantees promised to tutor on a “dailey bases” and teach “fluenty in speaking.” Another wrote that he’d pay himself $475 a month for a year to tutor children. When state officials e-mailed back that the grant lasted only six months, he replied that he’d pay himself $950 a month.
In some cases, the grantees provided instruction so unorthodox that it’s difficult to determine the educational value. The Al Malik Temple for Universal Truth spent its $20,000 grant to teach children how their birth date and name influence their destiny.
…
According to interviews with recipients, Hendon sponsored 44 of the 48 grants reviewed by the Tribune. He said he works hard in Springfield rounding up votes for Blagojevich and Senate Democrats. “I deserve more money,” he said. “I fall on all the swords down there.”
Of the 44 grants Hendon awarded, at least 21 went to people who campaigned for him or donated to his re-election efforts. Hendon said he wasn’t rewarding campaign workers; they just happened to apply.
Senator Hendon, allow me the honor of helping you out with a little Public Service 101. You do not “deserve” taxpayer money. You’re not entitled to it. It is not a prize to deliver to campaign workers. It is entrusted to you by your constituents and the hardworking taxpayers of Illinois to be used for legitimate, worthy, quality programs that benefit the people that pay your salary.
Learn this lesson: Transparency, and a competitive bidding process, is necessary in ALL instances where tax dollars are used.
This scandal is getting scant attention by the mainstream media but it appears that Chairman of the US Senate Budget Committee U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) got a sweetheart deal from the mortgage firm Countrywide. This scandal comes as a blow to Conrad who has always campaigned on his ethics and honesty. I guess Kent Conrad is just like every other Washington politician!
According to news reports Conrad, appears to have changed his story numerous times about his ties to the CEO of Countrywide and the kickbacks he received on his mortgage.
Fellow Democrats Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) are caught up in the same scandal.
North Dakota’s finest political blog, sayanythingblog, has been on top of this scandal since it broke. I encourage you to read each of these posts and become informed.
The Case for Kent Conrad’s Resignation
Conrad Doesn’t Even Beleive His Own Story About How He Got His Mortgage
Kent Conrad Friend of Angelo
Kent Conrad Changes His Story on the Mortgage Scandal AGAIN
Did Kent Conrad’s VIP Loan Violate Senate Ethics Rules?
Senators as Confused, Victimized Borrowers?
Kent Conrad’s Countrywide Mortgage Deceptions Making National News
More on Kent Conrad’s VIP Loan from Countrywide Mortgage CEO Angelo Mozilo
Kent Conrad Lies About Never having Met Angelo Mozilo
Kent Conrad Benefits from Unethical “Sweatheart” Loan Deal From Subprime Lender
The story has gotten some attention on Fox News. This clip is courtesy of sevenload.com
Link: sevenload.com
This just proves that you do not need to be from a big state to have politicians with ethical lapses in judgment.
I have been tracking the progress of the North Dakota Policy Council (NDPC) and their battle to bring transparency to government in North Dakota. One of the highlights of their transparency program has been the development of a website called Sunshine on Schools which is designed to track the spending and budgets of every school district in North Dakota.
Over the past few months I have posted extensively on their website and its progress. If you want to read these posts just visit Sunshine on Schools Garners More Support; Elected Official Praises SOS Transparency Website; and Spotlight on Sunshine … North Dakota.
Well now the main stream media has begun to pay attention to the transparency revolution being led by the NDPC. This past weekend the Grand Forks Herald, North Dakota’s 3rd largest newspaper did a great story about the Sunshine on Schools website. I encourage you to read the story (New Web site lists district information for all N.D. school districts) and see the impact that just a few people have been making on the issue of transparency.
I got a chuckle from the quote by North Dakota State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state’s highest education official, where he admits using the Sunshine on Schools website to look up information just that morning.
I am quoting from the Sunshine on Schools website, The data on this website is directly from the North Dakota Department of Instruction. I must ask myself the following question - Why did the Superintendent of Public Instruction have to go to Sunshine on Schools website to get information that should be available on his department’s website?
I See Dead People …. In the Voting Booth
10 June, 2008
This is amazing. 
I ran across this editorial from The Florida Times-Union while surfing the net today. Thank goodness there is at least one old media outlet crying out for election integrity and urging elected officials to ensure free and fair elections … or at least not allowing corpses to vote.
Here is the editorial from their website.
The Florida Times-Union
June 10, 2008
Elections: Keep them honest
By
The Times-Union
Voter fraud, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and going and …
A recent study found 9,000 dead people were registered to vote in Connecticut, Fox News reports.
Ok. I know government is inefficient but lets get them to hire the credit card companies that call me when I miss a payment. At least they know where I am and if I am alive!
Innocent mistakes?
In some cases, but not in all. One person had voted 17 times since his death.
17 times!!!! This is either election fraud or very stupid election judges at the polling
location.
There is pretty strong evidence that voter fraud has altered the course of history.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley may have stolen the 1960 presidential election by arranging for votes in the names of dead people.
Something definitely was up in Texas. The Washington Post recalls:
“In Fannin County, which had 4,895 registered voters, 6,138 votes were cast, three-quarters of them for [John] Kennedy.
“In one precinct of Angelina County, 86 people voted and the final tally was 147 for Kennedy, 24 for [Richard] Nixon.”
At the time, a reporter investigated voter fraud in Chicago. The Post quotes him as having said:
“I remember a house. It was completely gutted. There was nobody there. But there were 56 votes for Kennedy in that house.”
This is not like voting for the All Star Team in Major League Baseball. It is one man .. one vote not one man… twenty votes!
Who knows what would have happened if Nixon had been elected president in 1960 instead of 1968?
Also, Lyndon Johnson was nominated to the U.S. Senate in 1948 by an 87-vote margin.
That earned him the nickname, “Landslide Lyndon.”
The election, in which some late votes were “found,” may also have been fraudulent, according to The New York Times.
Click Here to read the full story on the website.
Thousands of brave men and women gave their lives to ensure America has free elections. Let’s hope our election officials live up to their sacrifice. Sadly, some have not.
Congratulations, College of DuPage
9 June, 2008
I recently posted about Adam Andrzejewski’s organization, For The Good of Illinois, and its quest to open up government entities to taxpayer scrutiny. After my post went live, Andrzejewski had his first mega-victory in working with board member and budding transparency icon David Carlin to open up College of Dupage’s books. (Coincidence? I think not.) COD’s annual budget is $140 mil, so knowing the vendors and reasons for expenditures will be a great step in holding the board officials to a gold standards of ethics.
The good folks at For The Good of Illinois also picked up on a key reason for schools to go transparent- Cost Savings. They encourage businesses to take part in this blurb from their presser:
DuPage County businesses- Take advantage of this service.
The College of DuPage spends approximately $40 million annually in vendor expenses. If you are a local commercial printer and can deliver quality and competitive pricing, take note. If you are a local commercial landscaper, insurance company, hotel, advertising agency, law firm, copier company, paving contractor, heating/air contractor, fire equipment, travel agency or architectural firm, COD paid millions of dollars to vendors in these industries in May, 2008.DuPage County companies have a ripe opportunity to look over what needs the school has and compete with the school’s current providers. If DuPage companies can offer a better service and deal, they could take part in millions of new revenue from COD. In this way, both your company and the school could profit by exercising civic duty and civic responsibility.
Congratulations to Adam, David, and COD Board Chairman Michael McKinnon on your victory for taxpayers in DuPage County and all of Illinois.
(Note to Adam: If you can get another school the size of COD online, I’ll consider us even.)
Illinois Review and the Illinois Policy Institute have stories up also- go check them out.
