McHenry County Blog

A press release from State Senate candidate Karen McConnaughay:

Leading transparency advocacy group again lauds McConnaughay’s efforts to reform government

Kane County winner of “Sunny Award” for making abundant information available online—one of only 19 Illinois governments to be recognized

Geneva, IL—National government transparency advocacy organization, the Sunshine Review, has again awarded Kane County its highest honor in the pursuit of open government.

The Kane County page on Sunshine Review. Click to enlarge.

The “Sunny Awards” are granted to those local governments “who are doing it right and setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet,” according to Michael Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review.

The Sunshine Review evaluated over 6,000 government web sites and gave awards to just over 200 entities that are the most transparent with government budgets, expenditures, contracts, personnel records and other vital information that helps the public monitor the performance of their elected officials. (http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/2012_Sunny_Awards)

Kane County’s second Sunny Award is the result of efforts by County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay to make government more accountable, cost effective and transparent.

“When I took office we had no formal procurement office and public disclosure of government contracting was almost non-existent,” said McConnaughay.

“Today the public can see virtually every step in the process—contractor bids, reviews, expenditures and payments, as well as vast amounts of other information. This award is another validation of the great strides we have made towards reform and open government.”

McConnaughay is hoping to promote this same transparency as a member of the State Senate.

“When I get to Springfield, I will work hard to ensure that state agencies are making full use of the technology available to open up government. I won’t put up with excuses for why the public can’t access this information,” she said.

“We were able to make these strides in Kane County during tough budget times while we were cutting spending and headcount, so I know it can be done if the commitment to transparency truly exists,” added McConnaughay.

McConnaughay is seeking the Republican nomination for the State Senate from the 33rd District which includes northeast Kane and southeast McHenry Counties.

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McConnaughay is running against Cliff Surges.

Besides looking at lobbying expenses, Sunshine Review also examines governmental web sites.

McHenry County’s is praised for having

• Annual fiscal reports are available online.
• 2008 Budget is online.
• Building and zoning permit information is available.
• Board meeting minutes and agendas are available.
• A full listing of county board members and contact information is posted.
• Tax bills can be viewed and paid online. Tax rates are also posted.
• Freedom of Information Requests available on-line.

Front page of McHenry County's web site.

There are more good things on the web site, including a variety of maps. Take a look at what you can find on them.

The web site is criticized for

• not having county contracts online and
• not disclosing memberships in taxpayer-funded lobbying associations

The Sunshire Review figures for lobbying. Click to enlarge.

Illinois Review pointed me to a summary of auditing expenses of the largest counties in Illinois.

The source is “The Sunshine Review,” which claims to be “establishing the standard for governmental transparency.”

Naturally, I looked up McHenry County’s expenditures.

You can find a comparison with other large Illinois counties here.

Different numbers are reported by Open Secrets.org.

Perhaps the 2010 difference seen here results from information being gathered later in the year than in the Sunshine Review study seen above.

Tomorrow – An analysis of the county’s web site.