Better Government Association

Investigations are usually the result of information given to the BGA by whistleblowers or other concerned parties. They usually focus on public administration issues, such as the awarding of public contracts or particular instances of waste, fraud or corruption.

Time to live by your own standards

Governor’s appointees fail to file required ethics disclosures

September 13, 2007 – With much fanfare, Governor Rod Blagojevich hailed passage of the Ethics Act on November 19, 2003 saying “we have taken a huge step forward in restoring honor to public service in Illinois.” Yet the governor’s administration has once again fallen short with the ethics law that he so proudly boasts of as one of his signature achievements.

16% of Chicago Aldermen Can’t Read a Calendar or Use a Computer

July 30, 2007 - An analysis by the BGA found that eight Chicago aldermen have failed to comply with Illinois law by filing their campaign statements late, not at all, or on paper. Illinois has virtually no rules on campaign finance except requiring disclosure of campaign contributions. Apparently, for some aldermen even Illinois' minimal requirements were too much to comply with in a timely fashion.

Is Taxpayer Money Being Used to Help Aldermen Campaign?

April 10, 2007 - An analysis by the BGA found the City of Chicago's website leading taxpayers to pages where aldermen and their campaign committees were soliciting contributions. State ethics laws prohibit the use of taxpayer-funded resources for political campaigns. "It's like walking into the alderman's office and being hit up for campaign money," said BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart.

The results appeared on Fox News Chicago in a story by reporter Dane Placko.

Conflict of interest questions follow election chairman

March 5, 2007 - In conjunction with the BGA, the ABC 7 News I-Team has revealed that Chicago Board of Election's Chairman Langdon Neal has a conflict of interest with the City of Chicago. Neal's law firm, of which he is the majority owner, does millions of dollars of business with the City. Neal is a registered lobbyist of the City of Chicago, his law firm gives campaign contributions to City and County elected officials and he does a large amount of zoning work in front of the various Chicago agencies in control of zoning issues. And as Chairman of the Board of Elections Neal is in charge of county votes for the Mayor, the alderman, and the City vote for all County officials.

"This is a guy who much of professional life in one fashion or another depends on the good graces of the City of Chicago," said BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart. "Yet we expect him to rule fairly and impartially on Mayor Daley and other officials knowing he got $4 million in business from them."

Read the full article by ABC's Chuck Goudie

BGA Investigations

BGA Study Finds Abysmal Compliance With Illinois FOIA

Rampant Misuse of Public Resources in Stickney

Property Tax Firms Give Big Money to Assessor

Questionable fundraising by Cook County Board President

CHA Contractors Donate Big Money to CEO's Ward Friends

Problems in the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations

City Lots for City Living turning the 'American Dream' into Chicago nightmare

Tax-exempt dollars flowing to Illinois politicians; non-profits risk big penalties