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Andy Shaw Biography
Andy Shaw is an award-winning Chicago journalist, and president and CEO of the Better Government Association . The BGA is a nonprofit and nonpartisan watchdog …Read More
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Not all government consolidations work
Most reform groups and editorial page writers are strong proponents of government consolidation, and for obvious reasons: When it’s done right it saves money and improves efficiency. And the sheer magnitude of government in Illinois — we have more than 7,000 separate taxing bodies, most …Read More
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Four glimmers of hope on reform front
Government is in chaos at so many levels these days. Large swaths of the federal bureaucracy are shut down by the high-risk brinkmanship of Democrats and Republicans in Washington. State government staggers under the weight of a crushing pension crisis. City, county and suburban governments …Read More
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With notorious gang leader, two officials showed miserable judgment
They called Larry Hoover “Chairman,” but he wasn’t your traditional business executive. For decades, though he was behind bars on a murder rap, Hoover ran the Gangster Disciples street gang, directing its drug trafficking and other illicit activities, according to law enforcement authorities. And Hoover …Read More
More Columns
Register to vote, to clean up politics
In 2008, the year of Barack Obama’s historic election, 6 million Americans wanted to vote but couldn’t because they weren’t registered, according to the U.S. Census. Some missed a registration deadline; others didn’t know they had to register, or how to do it. Now, five …
Let’s take a vote on dumping Gov. Lite
It’s Gov Lite time. But we’re not talking about beer, diet soda, or lo-cal meals. This is the quadrennial ritual that features candidates for Illinois governor announcing their running mates for lieutenant governor — aka Gov Lite or Lite Gov — an elective office that’s …
Some legislators deserve credit for giving reforms a boost
BY ANDY SHAW. Thankfully, our reform allies on city, county, suburban and state governing bodies stay the course, put the objections aside, and try to get the good government initiatives passed.
West suburban fire board pumped up chiefs’ pensions, promoted trustee’s partner
THE WATCHDOGS: A west suburban fire department that serves parts of Darien, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and unincorporated DuPage County gave raises to two chiefs and an assistant chief in deals that accompanied their departures, pumping up their pensions and clearing a path for the rise of a battalion chief who is now in a civil union with a member of the board that approved the deals, records and interviews show.
How a $200 million township school treasurer’s office stuck it to taxpayers
BY ANDY SHAW. One of the more shocking revelations about the treasurer: He didn’t keep a budget. More than 200 million tax dollars coming in and going out for expenses, consultants and salaries, but no annual spending plan?
IDOT twists law on political hires
Every so often we hear about crazy old laws that are still on the books but rarely enforced. Like: It’s illegal to drive with an un-caged bear, play cards on Sunday, or spit on a sidewalk — stuff like that. Sadly, a landmark U.S. Supreme …Read More
Smaller Council could improve accountability
In the early 1900s, when Chicago was burnishing its reputation as “hog butcher for the world,” a bloated City Council seated 70 aldermen — two from each of its 35 wards. City officials increased the number of wards to 50 in 1923, but in a …
Doctors stiffing Cook County
Over the past year the BGA tracked the comings and goings of several county doctors — all with outside practices in addition to their public-sector jobs — and found one of them was at his side job or at home on various occasions when he was scheduled to be working at county-run Stroger Hospital on Chicago’s West Side.
Wiggins’ donation to Preckwinkle yet another sign of how Metra leadership works
Which moves faster — a Metra train filled with commuters, or a Metra scandal filled with resignations, revelations and investigations? Let’s call it a tie. And then move on down the line to shed more light on another Metra story you may have seen in …
THE WATCHDOGS: RTA weighs hiring firm linked to House Speaker Michael Madigan
THE WATCHDOGS: The Regional Transportation Authority’s board chairman put off plans to award a consulting contract for as much as $120,000 to a Chicago firm with ties to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan even as former Metra CEO Alex Clifford detailed allegations that Madigan tried to use his clout to get a raise for one Metra employee and a promotion for another.
Time for a tiff over TIFS
It’s time for another serious look at the pros and cons of Tax Increment Financing in Chicago — a tiff over TIF — the controversial economic development program that’s supposed to revitalize struggling neighborhoods by offering financial incentives to potential investors. The “sweeteners” come from …
Ill. integrity laws better than most
‘Integrity” is not a word we generally associate with state government in Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Louisiana. “Corruption” is a more likely answer on a multiple-choice test, based on the sheer volume of high-visibility scandals involving their top public officials. But counterintuitive as …
Some begging for inspector general
Here’s a basic tenet from Watchdog 101: The office of inspector general is one of government’s best anti-corruption tools, but only if it has authority, resources, independence and integrity. And those are big ifs. For instance, Chicago’s IG, Joe Ferguson, is considered the gold standard, …
Big Brother aims at free press
Government officials from the White House to the field house, and every public building in between, often react to probing questions from investigative journalists and civic watchdogs with exaggerated levels of irritation normally reserved for invasions of swarming gnats at picnics. The give-and-take is inherently …
Taxpayers deserve ‘golden parachute’
‘Golden parachutes” may ensure soft, comfortable landings for high-level officials as they float down from lofty government jobs, but those excessive severance packages drop like lead balloons on the backs of taxpayers who get crushed by the cost. Big bye-bye bonuses are especially offensive when …
Legal fights waste your tax money
‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” An adage that’s certainly true in some cases but not, unfortunately, in the watchdog business in Illinois. Sometimes saying “pretty please” to government officials gets you zip. So organizations like the Better Government Association have to brandish …
Pension deal must address abuses
Illinois lawmakers are returning to Springfield on Wednesday for a special session on the pension crisis. They’re searching for a plan that’s fiscally sound, constitutional, politically palatable and capable of winning passage in the Legislature. So far they haven’t found it, which is no surprise …
