Senator Duffy’s bill, SB 3392, would require all local governments –
including school boards, townships and municipalities – to post their
checkbooks online. The state senator said it’s possible that the alleged City of
Dixon theft could have been flagged earlier if the public had access to
this vital information. Senator Duffy has been pursuing this
transparency bill for several years. In the past, Springfield leadership
has not allowed this bill to be called in a senate committee for a
hearing.
“These accusations highlight why it’s so important for Illinois to
move forward on government transparency,” said Sen. Duffy, R-Lake
Barrington.
“If you look at the City of Dixon’s website, there is almost no
financial information available to the public. Without filing onerous
Freedom of Information Act requests, the public had no mechanism for
holding its city officials accountable or investigating the finances
themselves.”
“After seeing how little public information is available on Dixon’s
website, it’s no surprise that the alleged theft went under the radar
for so long,” said Brian Costin, director of government reform at the
Illinois Policy Institute. “What Dixon and the entire state must do now
is create a culture of transparency and accountability. This will help
weed out corruption, and restore the public’s faith in local
government.”
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