Illinois Reform Commission

[John Wonderlich]

The Illinois Reform Commission (set up in the wake of Blagojevich) recently released their 100 days report.  Here's a relevant section with a bunch of welcome provisions:

1. General Recommendations.
a. The State’s Chief Information Officer should review its
capabilities and identify ways to implement the recommendations in
this section.
b. The Governor’s office should commence a survey of public
opinion to determine citizens’ information access priorities. This will
allow government agencies to focus limited resources on the technology
improvements that will yield the most benefit to citizens. For example,
the government of Alabama reports on state land leasing using
Microsoft Virtual Earth. The citizens of Illinois should decide which
uses of technology would most benefit them.
c. Agency information managers should ensure the
availability of technical support for users of their data and online
systems.
d. The Commission encourages the Governor to institute an
open competition to solicit ideas from the public about how to improve
the State’s technology infrastructure to increase access, transparency
and openness in government. The Commission recommends
structuring the competition to award a monetary prize for the ideas
that (i) best increase government accountability, (ii) save the State the
most money and (ii) best improve the State’s technological
infrastructure.2. Online Disclosure.
a. The Commission recommends the creation of an online
system for filing public disclosures by public officials, lobbyists and
others. Mandatory e-filing of required disclosures would lead to greater
transparency by enabling real-time reporting of relevant information.
It would also help implement this Report’s recommendations on
campaign finance and procurement.
b. The online system should provide all necessary tools for
disclosure, including forms, instructions, and ways to obtain further
assistance.
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c. The system should publicly identify disclosure failures or
irregularities. This will reduce errors or omissions in disclosures and
ensure greater accountability for the content of such disclosures.
3. Online Dissemination of Public Information.
a. Citizens should be able to receive instant updates on
regulatory and legislative developments via web syndication, i.e.
technology that instantly brings information to the users rather than
requiring them to seek it.
b. Publicly available information should be delivered in a
format that is easy to use and understand. This will promote wider use
and greater citizen involvement. People are far more likely to use
technology if it is straightforward and easy to understand.
c. Publicly available information should be delivered in a
format that is accessible to citizens with limitations and disabilities, as
specified by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794d).
d. Published information should use modern online security
methods to ensure that the information originates from authorized
sources. This will prevent attempts to mimic government information
and mislead citizens.
4. Collaboration.
a. Data published by the government should be in formats
that promote analysis and reuse of that data. Reusable data promotes
innovative uses of information. For example, Google uses government
satellite data to provide maps to consumers. Data in digital formats
comes in various levels of reusability and ensuring reusability will
encourage similar innovation in the use of public information.
b. Citizens should be able to directly access governmentpublished
data rather than having it interpreted for them. This will
allow the reuse of data, encourage private-public partnerships to
disseminate