SPRINGFIELD — A bill requiring local governments to post financial information could help to expose and prevent fraud, supporters of the measure say.
By Anthony Brino
SPRINGFIELD — A bill requiring local governments to post financial information could help to expose and prevent fraud, supporters of the measure say.
The Illinois Policy Institute, state Sen. Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, and other lawmakers are pushing Senate Bill 3392, which would require local governments to post their budgets, audits and expenditures. The institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank that supports free markets.
The proposal comes after federal charges were filed against Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell, who is accused of taking $53 million from taxpayers.
The Illinois Policy Institute looked at 130 local governments, and measured them based on transparency. The institute found Dixon’s website carried no financial information.
“After seeing how little public information is available on Dixon’s website, it’s no surprise that the alleged theft went under the radar for so long,” said Brian Costin, director of government reform for the institute.
Crundwell became comptroller of Dixon, a town of about 16,000 people, in 1983. Some seven years later, court documents say, Dixon began funneling city funds into personal bank accounts, using the money to buy a horse farm, several cars and a $2.1 million motor home.
Crundwell is charged with one count of wire fraud, a felony.
Update 4:21 p.m. 5/3/12:
The City of Evanston came in fourth highest in the state on a transparency check of 64 municipalities by the policy institute. Evanston/Skokie School District 65 came in fifth and Evanston Township High School District 202 ranked 10th in a check of two dozen school districts.