“Transparency” – making it possible for citizens to “see through” the workings of their government – is essential to holding government and the officials who administer it accountable for their actions and inaction.  Information about the City and how it operates belongs to the citizens, as it is the currency those citizens need to participate to the fullest extent possible in the democratic ideal of self-governance.

When citizens know what their City government is doing, they can better help shape the decision-making processes to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and that the general welfare is promoted over the welfare of the special interests.  And the more transparent government is, the less chance there is of corruption and the back-room deals that for too long have characterized government in our county and in our state.

That is why we have the Illinois Open Meetings Act, the purpose of which is to ensure that public business is done in open forums so that our residents are fully informed about what their government is doing and why. That Act exists for the protection of the citizens, not for the privacy of the politicians.  Consequently, that Act permits – but does not require – certain meetings to be closed to the public, while at the same time permitting the participants in those closed sessions to publicly report on those closed session proceedings.

From my 18 months in office I have found that closed sessions have often been abused to keep important information from the public and to enable city officials to take actions without the appropriate level of citizen scrutiny.  For the good of the citizens, closed sessions should be kept to an absolute minimum; and, if elected, I will do everything in my power to make sure that closed session meetings are few and far between.

We also need to promote the use of technology to put the operations and decisions of all City departments, including the Library, online and readily accessible by the people on their schedules and for their convenience.  In that way, City Hall can effectively be “open” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Finally, transparency of our City government not only empowers its citizens, but it builds bonds of trust between those citizens and their government which carries with it the goodwill that unites a community in common efforts toward common goals.  That is why I consider it a keystone of my campaign for mayor of Park Ridge.