Some lawmakers in Springfield are again trying to make government less transparent.
State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, a Republican from Rockford, has filed House Bill 261. If passed, it will end the publication of all public notices in newspapers in favor of government websites. The legislation states that when a law, court order or contract requires a governmental unit to provide notice by publication in a newspaper, that governmental unit may publish the notice on an official government website instead of in a newspaper.
You might recall a similar assault of transparency occurred in 2011, when a nearly identical bill was filed. It was unsuccessful.
Proponents of the bill say it would save money for local governments. The tradeoff might seem sensible, but a closer look exposes the legislation for what it is: a stealthy assault on open government under the guise of saving money. Newspapers, of course, have a vested interest in this matter: The bill would take revenue from most newspapers.
For decades, however, public notices have been printed in newspapers for a good reason: to provide the greatest verifiable public exposure for the money spent by government officials. (Public notices are billed at a discounted ad rate, by the way).
The much larger audience of a local newspaper dwarfs the small number of citizens who visit a local governmental website. The legislation’s flaws become more apparent when you consider that many people still don’t use or have access to the Internet, especially the poor, the elderly, minorities and the disabled.
Ample proof exists that local governments blatantly disregard the law when it comes to posting information online. A recent audit conducted by the Citizens Advocacy Center studied more than 750 websites of public bodies in Illinois. In cases where local governments already are required by law to post information on their websites, the compliance rates were abysmal. Only 73 percent complied with posting notices of upcoming meetings, a mere 57 percent complied with posting proposed meeting agendas, and less than half – 48 percent – complied with posting approved meeting minutes.
And remember, Illinois has an excessive number of taxing bodies. Citizens would have to check each one to monitor legal ads, which provide notice of such things as public meetings, budget hearings, and government expenditures. That’s much less efficient for the public than having a one-stop source for public notices – a local newspaper.
For people who use the Internet, Illinois newspapers (including this one) already offer a free, online public notice service. Visit http://www.publicnoticeillinois.com/ to search for public notices from this community and many others.
HB 261 is sitting in the House Counties and Township Committee. That's where it should die. The bill is a risky step backward for the interests of open, honest, above-board government.
In Illinois, it’s absolutely a step in the wrong direction.