IT’S SUNSHINE WEEK!  In addition to engaging in dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information, this is a time to get acquainted with government data sets!  Government bodies are releasing millions of data sets that are available at our fingertips and easily searchable.  For starters, check out data about your state, county, city, your ZIP code, your school district or even your specific school.  Here is a list of websites to get you started.   

GOVERNMENT DATA AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

MUNICIPAL
http://www.data.gov/cities/
Find federal datasets concerning specific municipalities.  Search by topic, also. 

https://data.cityofchicago.org
Search and browse hundreds of city datasets.  Search by category or topic. 

COUNTY
http://www.data.gov/counties/
Find federal datasets concerning specific counties.  Search by topic, also.

https://cookcountyclerk.com 
Find birth, marriage, & death records; delinquent property tax search; Cook County ordinances; election results; polling locations; directory of elected officials; maps; lobbyist reports; TIF property searches, reports, and maps; and ethics filings.

STATE
http://www.data.gov/states/
Search for federal datasets concerning states.  Search by topic, also.

https://data.illinois.gov 
Search and browse thousands of state datasets.  Search by municipality, category, or topic. 

Illinois Sex Offender Information
https://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/sor.cfm

Illinois Department of Transportation
http://www.dot.state.il.us/
Find project information and maps

Illinois Report Card
http://www.illinoisreportcard.com/
Find facts about individual schools, including ISAT scores, PSAE scores, total enrollment, number of schools, number of teachers, student mobility, graduation rates, college readiness rates, instructional average spending per student, and average operational spending per student.  Also, view indicators of academic progress, district environment, student characteristics.  Compare your school to others. 

FEDERAL

https://data.gov/open-gov/
Portal to search for federal datasets for cities, counties, and states. 

USA Spending
http://usaspending.gov
Search for federal contracts by agency, department, vendor, or fiscal year.

U.S. Census Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics
http://lehd.ces.census.gov/
View combined federal, state, and Census Bureau data on employers and employees.  Statistics on employment, earnings, and job flows at detailed levels of geography and industry and for different demographic groups. 

Toxics Release Inventory Program
http://www2.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program

Enter an address for maps locating toxic chemicals in your community.
http://www2.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/tri-data-and-tools
Access reports and downloadable files tracking the management of more than 650 toxic chemicals used at U.S. industrial facilities. 

INTERNATIONAL

https://opencorporates.com
Information on millions of companies worldwide.  Search by name, filter by jurisdiction.

Offshore Leaks Database
https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/
Search for offshore companies and trusts, by country.

Investigative Dashboard
http://investigativedashboard.org/
Search through 450 online databases across 120 countries for information on shareholders, directors, and financial reports of companies worldwide. 

Thanks to reporter Jeff Lowenstein for compiling this list and for his fantastic presentation at the Chicago Headline Club sponsored FOIA Fest 2014 hosted at Loyola University to kickoff Sunshine Week.

New rule to attend CPS meetings draws complaints
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah Tribune reporter 8:11 p.m. CDT, August 28, 2013

A new requirement that participants sign up online to attend the monthly Chicago Board of Education meeting drew complaints Wednesday and claims the district is violating the Open Meetings Act.

Ronald Jackson, a regular at CPS board meetings, said he had signed up before the meeting but was turned away by security guards who couldn’t find his name on a list. Jackson asked to see the district’s legal department. Eventually, he was allowed into the meeting.

Jackson said  many others who tried to attend the meeting Wednesday where CPS was voting on its budget for fiscal year 2014 ended up leaving after being denied entry.

“I shouldn’t have to be harassed,” Jackson said. “District policy doesn’t override state and federal laws.”

Maryam Judar, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst, said government agencies can ask for people to sign up to speak at public meetings, or even require people to sign up to get a count on attendance. But they cannot deny someone entry into a public meeting because they have not signed up beforehand.

“The purpose of the Open Meetings Act is that deliberations take place in public, and the public may attend the meeting as an observer, Judar said. “It would be in contravention of the Open Meetings Act to limit that availability to a select few. They shouldn’t be turning people away for lack of signing up.”

The district’s guidelines stated people who wanted to speak or even observe board meetings  “must register in advance of the day of the meeting.”

CPS officials said later Wednesday they will be amending their guidelines to make it clear that the public is not required to sign up in advance in order to attend the board meeting.

“Our goal is to ensure the safety and accommodate the needs of all attending our monthly Board of Education meetings,” said CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll. “That is why we are requesting, but not requiring, that members of the public planning to attend these meetings to register in advance so we can best prepare to accommodate all visitors on those days. Any member of the public who wishes to attend the Board meeting can do so without registering in advance given that there is adequate space in Board chambers and its overflow room."

nahmed@tribune.com

Read the article at the chicagotribune.com here

http://na.newssafety.org/?p=503

Lack of transparency

The City Council approval of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust ordinance was a vote to value political interests over the public interest and passed with inadequate public protections despite unanswered questions from aldermen, the public and the city's inspector general. The lack of transparency surrounding the decision-making process was patently unacceptable. Transparency and accountability, particularly in government contracting and spending, are critical tools to prevent corruption, boost public confidence in government and ensure fiscal responsibility.

While generally the city has provided greater accessibility to some government information, how deep the transparency commitment is becomes evident when crucial issues such as the CIT are in play. Reasonable accountability standards such as bringing the CIT under the purview of the inspector general's office, requiring council votes on all taxpayer dollar commitments, detailing enforcement provisions, ensuring compliance with ethics and procurement ordinances, and even declaring the CIT to be a subsidiary city public body to ensure compliance with state transparency laws were ignored. This lack of accountability is also inconsistent with Illinois Nonprofit Principles and Best Practices.

Moving forward, public bodies interested in creating similar entities should embrace that the goals of democracy are broader than those of economic development and implement meaningful public interest safeguards such as those suggested. Our organizations, along with the Donors Forum, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, League of Women Voters of Illinois and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund believe that the people of Chicago deserve better.

— Brian Imus, director, Illinois Public Interest Research Group, and Terry Pastika, executive director, Citizen Advocacy Center, Chicago

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-vp-0504voicelettersbriefs-20120504,0,3181577,print.story