The mayor’s office refused to produce more than 2,000combined emails the city identified as relevant to the speed camera, water rate and vehicle sticker issues, saying it would’ve been problematic to remove opinions or deliberations it can withhold from the public. more ›

It seems the most popular suggestions for cutting the city budget involve changing the way aldermen do business, from cutting discretionary budgets to the number of aldermen. more ›

Apps for Metro Chicago is a contest to develop new smartphone apps for open government from the City, County, State and MetroPulse databases. Over $50,000 in prize money will be awarded to the best apps. more ›

The Government Accountability Office named Illinois as one of 16 states where the federal government will conduct on-site reviews and targeted investigations of of spending drawn from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “Experience tells us that the risk for fraud and abuse grows when billions of dollars are going out quickly, eligibility requirements are being established or changed, and new programs are being created,” said Gene Dodaro, acting U.S. comptroller general. “Illinois is an obvious target for federal scrutiny and attention, whether it’s prior to contracts being let or auditing them afterwards,” he said. “Illinois has had numerous projects called into question, for both how contractors were selected and the condition of finished projects.” more ›

The public has always been in the dark, it seems, about TIFs, the way they are used to pay for city improvement projects and the beneficiaries. Therefore we’re thrilled to hear about a new “TIF Sunshine” ordinance being proposed in the City Council. Wicker Park Aldermen Manny Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd) submitted an ordinance - now backed by 22 council members including senior Alderman Bernard Stone (50th) - that would force city government to post all TIF documents, from weekly payroll filings to annual reports, on a city-funded website. The pair argued that the benefits of the service, in terms of time and transparency, far outweigh the small costs of the endeavor. Check out the ordinance here [PDF]. more ›