For today, anyway. [wink] DeKalb City Council members are considering revising financial policy after it was disclosed that 3rd Ward Alderman Victor Wogen’s company was awarded six contracts totaling $52,000 in 2008. Currently there are no restrictions or requirements for disclosure on city officials winning contracts for public projects. The city is considering creating a…
Category: Honor Roll
Grayson on the Job
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) was elected to Congress after spending some years representing whistle blowers in cases involving military contract fraud. I’ve been enjoying YouTube videos of his grilling of Federal Reserve honchos and may nominate him for House Rookie of the Year.
Corn Fest Gives Back
GuideStar is great for researching charities and, if they pass muster, donating to them on-site. It’s a gathering place for data on other nonprofit organizations, too — apparently for any that file IRS Form 990, which is marked “Open to Public Inspection.” One I looked over recently is DeKalb Corn Fest, Inc., a group that…
P.E.T. Does It. Why Won’t ReNew?
Last week I submitted a FOIA request to the City of DeKalb to review meeting minutes from the Preservation of the Egyptian Theater (P.E.T.) organization. Today I stopped by the Municipal Building to pick up two years’ worth, which translated to minutes of 17 meetings. Such accessibility is made possible by a provision of P.E.T.’s…
City Clerk Implementing New FOIA Standards Now
The new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation has an effective date of January 2010, but DeKalb’s Office of the City Clerk will not not wait until then to begin implementing policy and procedural changes in fulfilling FOIA requests. In fact, at least two changes — that of charging for copies of documents only after…
Almost-Live Blog for Council Meeting
Alderman Teresinski has been reporting on happenings in his ward and did so again tonight. What a novel and refreshing use of Agenda Item L, Reports & Communications. He gets points for that. I was disappointed that my own alderman, Mr. Gallagher, had nothing to say about last week’s Economic Development Committee meeting since almost…
DAWC Update
This is a bit late but I was just reading the latest DeKalb Area Women’s Center newsletter and suddenly couldn’t stand not letting you know what happened with DAWC. I’m late because some of the group involved in helping clear the fallen chimney bricks off the roof and out of the garden are quite reluctant…
A Shout Out for Transparency
Perhaps as soon as next month, College of DuPage will begin posting employees’ salaries: Depending on whom you ask, that is either the epitome of open government or the end of privacy and safety. “This does not make us transparent,” COD Trustee Kathy Wessel said, adding the proposal was “vindictive” and served no “practical purpose.”…
Local Companies Measuring Up
We’ve talked about corporate accountability before, in the context of the Target warehouse. Target received the EDGE tax credit from the state in exchange for providing a certain number of new, permanent, full-time jobs and its annual progress reports are posted at this site. A recent check, in fact, shows good numbers for all the…