Transparency

In our Transition Report, we named Transparency as one of our 4 goals for Cook County Government:

“Transparency and Accountability: A government that is transparent and accountable to its residents is a more effective government. Improve transparency and accountability of County government, in particular by improving public information about hiring, purchasing and the overall use of taxpayer dollars. This would strengthen public trust in County government and bolster morale of its employees.”

 

Since December 2010, we have made great strides towards reaching this goal.  The list below, to be updated periodically, is what we feel are our best examples of government transparency.

In 2011:

• Transition Report
• “Make Cook County More Efficient” public survey
• President Preckwinkle’s Public Calendar
• Implemented performance-based management and budgeting
• 2011 Forest Preserve budget request posted online
• 2011 Cook County budget posted online
• Launched 2 new websites, social media networks
• Posted a better version of the county check register online
• Posted a follow-up to our 100-day report online
• Partnered with City of Chicago to collaborate on how to save taxpayer dollars
• Required county employees to log political contacts
• Passed ordinance to post county data online
• Sought out ideas from employees on how to make Cook County more efficient.  Put the 4 best ideas up for public vote, and awarded “Frontline Award” to the winner
• Announced anti-violence collaboration with the City of Chicago
• Reformed the appointment process for county boards and committees
• Broadcast Cook County Board meetings live
• Posted video of Cook County Board meetings that could be viewed by agenda item
• Added BrowseAloud, software to help the visually impaired use the county website
• Implemented “S.T.A.R.”, a performance management tool used to help county agencies set goals for efficiency and achieve them.
• Launched a new interactive budget website where the public could learn more about how government finances work and interact
• Held a public hearing on the 2012 Budget
• Hosted an Online Townhall Meeting on the 2012 Budget–click here for the archived video
• Reformed procurement process
• Launched data.cookcountyil.gov, a new Open Data website
• Identified $11 million in budget savings through partnering with the City of Chicago
• Released the results of a comprehensive desk audit for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
• Announced merger of City and County workforce development agencies into a new-single agency
• Released a second STAR performance management report