Better Government Association

Founded in 1923 to fight Al Capone's ironclad grip on Chicago City Hall, the BGA is a Chicago‐based, nonpartisan organization that combats waste, fraud and corruption in city, county, suburban and state government. Capone may be long gone, but Illinois is still plagued by the same problems. One Illinois governor is in prison and another may be on the way. Pay‐to‐play is still the coin of the realm and nothing up to now has changed the puerile polity.

The BGA represents one of the best hopes for cleaning up Illinois government in a significant and meaningful way. We’re developing a comprehensive and realistic plan to inform and engage millions of citizens who seek a better government. Our mission is two‐fold: In the near‐term, to eliminate the "corruption tax" we pay here in Illinois when government is run for the benefit of the politicians and the insiders—not the people—through waste, fraud, inefficiency, nepotism, cronyism, and patronage. That unacceptable situation has reached epidemic proportions at all levels of government and can no longer be tolerated. Our long‐term goal is to restore FAITH in government, which means Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Honesty.

We believe this can actually become a reality and not just idle rhetoric if we combine the tried-and-true BGA missions of investigative reporting, litigation and public policy advocacy with modern tools to engage an eager public—an interactive web site, monthly forums around the city and online, a good government "report card” and TV and radio shows focusing on good government issues. The glue that holds the new and old together is “civic engagement”—our ambitious plan to harness and redirect the energy of regular citizens in a relentless pressure campaign that demands of public officials a government of which we can be proud.

In June of 2009, the BGA welcomed new executive director Andy Shaw. As the main political reporter for ABC 7 in Chicago, Shaw spent the past 26 years asking politicians the tough questions about how they were spending your hard‐earned tax dollars. He held their feet to the fire, and he knows how the system works, what's broken and how to start the process of fixing it.

Shaw believes the citizens of Illinois deserve to have their FAITH in government restored—that it's unacceptable to shrug our shoulders, utter the old canard that "you can't fight City Hall" and buy into legendary Chicago alderman Paddy Bauler's boast that "Chicago ain't ready for reform." It is simply not true. Chicago and Illinois are ready, and the BGA is in the forefront of the reform fight.

As we work to expand the BGA infrastructure, our core activities continue unabated. We've partnered with Fox Chicago, ABC 7, CBS 2, the Chicago Sun‐Times, Crain’s, Chicago Magazine, the Daily Herald and the Chicago News Cooperative on investigations of waste, fraud, inefficiency and pay‐to‐play contracting. We’ve filed lawsuits to force compliance with Freedom of Information requests and have lobbied lawmakers to follow good government principles when it comes to reforming legislative redistricting, public pensions, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and privatization. We’ve also entered into partnerships with local universities and like‐minded civic groups to support reform initiatives.

Shaw has made dozens of radio and TV appearances to speak out on relevant issues. We’re paying close attention to the trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich because state government is also on trial this summer, and that makes this a “teaching moment” for Illinois residents to look, listen and demand changes in the way their government operates.