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Government Transparency

An Open Letter to John Brennan: Don't Drone Me, Bro!

Valiant Lowitz | Posted 04.14.2013 | Comedy
Valiant Lowitz

I know people are on you about shifting U.S. counter-terrorism policy to "targeted, surgical pressure" on militant groups intent on attacking the homeland but whatever -- people harass us for our frat's policy of "targeted, surgical pressure" on sororities all the time. Screw it, you do you.

Dems: 'Transparency' Candidate Is Liar

The Huffington Post | John Celock | Posted 07.12.2012 | Politics

The heat in Ohio's competitive Senate race has been turned up as state Democrats challenge the Republican nominee's claims of transparency. Republi...

Nate Willis

Bipartisan Duo Calls For Public Access To Hidden Reports

HuffingtonPost.com | Nate Willis | Posted 07.11.2012 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan congressional duo is calling for the American public to be given access to the same information that members of Congress ha...

To Stop Corruption, Egypt Needs a Freedom of Information Law

Sahar Aziz | Posted 07.23.2012 | World
Sahar Aziz

For Egypt to achieve sustainable democracy, many reforms remain to be implemented, the most important of which is public access to information that permits meaningful government accountability.

Secrecy and the Bradley Manning Trial

Jonathan Hafetz | Posted 06.25.2012 | Crime
Jonathan Hafetz

Rather than allaying concerns surrounding excessive government secrecy by opening Manning's criminal proceedings for the world to see, the court is exacerbating them by suggesting there is something to hide.

Reforming Washington & Restoring Our Faith in Congress

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand | Posted 06.04.2012 | Politics
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

If we are going to restore the trust the American people have in Congress and rebuild their faith in government, increasing transparency and accountability in many aspects of how Washington does business is imperative. The STOCK Act is just a start.

In The Public Interest : States Make Spending More Transparent, but Some Far Ahead of Others

Phineas Baxandall | Posted 05.20.2012 | Politics
Phineas Baxandall

Transparency in government expenditures promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence in government. We need more of it.

Dr. Transparent and Mayor Rahm: On Open Government in Chicago

Jeff Kelly Lowenstein | Posted 03.06.2012 | Chicago
Jeff Kelly Lowenstein

Emanuel campaigned on a pledge to create "the most open, accountable, and transparent government that the City of Chicago has ever seen." Even his most ardent critics would concede that he has delivered on some part of that.

Transparency -- The First Step in a Government Revolution

Dag Detter | Posted 12.03.2011 | Business
Dag Detter

The current financial crisis is a unique opportunity to challenge the vested interests wanting to preserve the poor performance of the past and keeping these assets away from scrutiny.

Good Government Through the Looking Glass: Transparency and Accountability

Toni Preckwinkle | Posted 11.30.2011 | Chicago
Toni Preckwinkle

Last week was the launch of Cook County's new Open Data website. The website makes an unprecedented amount of County information available to the public, all available with just a few clicks of a mouse.

Jen Sabella

City Stepping Up Social Media Game With Foursquare Partnership

HuffingtonPost.com | Jen Sabella | Posted 11.16.2011 | Chicago

If you're still gloating over the fact that you are "mayor" of five Chicago bars on Foursquare, a new partnership announced by real Chicago Mayor Rahm...

Putting Our Community First

Raja Krishnamoorthi | Posted 10.29.2011 | Chicago
Raja Krishnamoorthi

Tea Party Congressman Joe Walsh voted for a government shutdown even though the vast majority of his constituents favored the opposite. If I am elected to Congress, I will put the interests of our community first.

Quinn Approves FOIA Amendments, Watchdog Group Not Pleased

Posted 10.29.2011 | Chicago

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law Friday that gives government entities a longer time period to respond to requests for public records, despite...

Stanford grads' agenda: 1) fix economy, 2) find job

Dakin Sloss | Posted 10.24.2011 | College
Dakin Sloss

Knowledge is power. In the modern era, power has always been monopolized by special interests. So what do they know that we don't? To give power back to Californians, we sought to open government records and, with more data, show how it could work better.

Good Government Through the Looking Glass: The Budget Process

Toni Preckwinkle | Posted 10.15.2011 | Chicago
Toni Preckwinkle

Requiring preliminary budget estimates is the first step in implementing a more transparent and accountable budget process. This allows us to better engage our stakeholders, including County residents, in the budget process.

Good Government Through the Looking Glass

Toni Preckwinkle | Posted 09.18.2011 | Chicago
Toni Preckwinkle



I realize that simple band-aid solutions won't fix broad, systemic problems. A key step towards reform in any government requires taking an honest and thorough look at the current budgets and programs.

Alex Wagner

Obama White House (Quietly) Pushes Forward on Innovation

HuffingtonPost.com | Alex Wagner | Posted 09.25.2011 | Business

Underscoring the raging debate over the size and scope of federal government is a broad national perception that the country's government is bloated, ...

Cary Kennedy Is a Great Choice for Denver's Chief Financial Officer

Ellen Dumm | Posted 09.13.2011 | Denver
Ellen Dumm

While the treasurer's position is not particularly high-profile or "sexy," it is critical. During one of the worst American economic meltdowns, Kennedy made smart, solid investments on behalf of taxpayers.

CHA Head Resigns Following Credit Card Scandal

Posted 08.14.2011 | Chicago

Last week, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel took away his access to city credit cards, cars and the police officers assigned to drive them. On Tuesday, Chic...

The Two Tribes of Open Government?

Project On Government Oversight | Posted 07.06.2011 | Politics
Project On Government Oversight

The federal government still has a long way to go. In the mean time, can't the two camps in the open government world peacefully coexist? There's just too much work to be done for us to get bogged down in denigrating each others' agendas.

Chicago Reporter Sues City Over FOIA Rejections

The Huffington Post | Jen Sabella | Posted 06.13.2011 | Chicago

For years, the Chicago Reader's Mick Dumke has been reporting on everything from the city's misuse of TIF funds to its lack of recycling. Shedding lig...

Public Cut Out of Budget Negotiations

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 06.12.2011 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

A very small number of political leaders have ended up with startling control over the country's priorities, and the public has been left piecing together what is happening well after it's been decided.

Government Transparency 2.0

Craig and Marc Kielburger | Posted 06.06.2011 | World
Craig and Marc Kielburger

Canada is one of the most computer literate countries in the world, with a high level of social media penetration. How will Canadians use these tools during the federal election campaign?

Mike Huckabee's Secrecy Problem

Mother Jones | Siddhartha Mahanta | Posted 06.04.2011 | Politics

There's a Mike Huckabee mystery that won't go away. Send a public records request seeking documents from his 12-year stint as Arkansas governor, as...

Government Transparency Showdown Set To Unfold In Congress

AP | LARRY MARGASAK | Posted 05.31.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress objected Thursday to the Homeland Security Department's now-rescinded practice of requiring secretive revie...