Last month, we sent a letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House requesting that they update their chambers and join the 44 other states that have free archives online for the people of Illinois to watch house and senate floor and committee proceedings. You can read that letter below.

The Honorable Emmanuel “Chris” Welch
Speaker
Illinois House of Representatives

The Honorable Don Harmon
President
Illinois State Senate

Audio and video recordings, and the accessibility tools associated with them, are vital tools for ensuring all people can participate in our democracy. As you both know, the halls of the legislature are where the ideas that become our state’s laws are debated and where the varied interests from across Illinois meet to hash out differences and shape our great state. 

In our digital age it is more important than ever to make sure everyone is able to participate in this process. A free and open catalog of recordings allows busy professionals, parents, people with disabilities and anyone else who cannot attend meetings in person, or watch remotely during the proceedings, to follow what their legislators are doing. 

The current process to obtain archived proceedings is archaic. As explained on the General Assembly’s website, the proceedings are “recorded and archived on digital video disc (DVD) by the House Clerk. Copies may be obtained on DVD from the Clerk for a fee.” Not only does this system rely on outdated technology, but it is also inequitable, locking out those who cannot pay. 

We ask that archives be kept online, searchable and accessible without a paywall, of all videos so that the people of Illinois can review the workings of their government as needed. 

Illinois is one of only six states that does not provide ready access to archival videos of floor proceedings, according to a 2022 analysis from the National Conference of State Legislatures. The same report found that Illinois is one of only seven states that do not have archived videos of committee hearings. 

Not only is Illinois lacking compared to other states, but Springfield is falling behind Chicago and other municipalities across the state who are able to broadcast live streams and offer free archives on their websites or through Youtube. Specifically, the city of Chicago’s website is intuitive with live videos easy to find and the archive easy to search.

The ability to search the transcript is a powerful tool, and BGA is glad that the current paid system allows it, but since the archive is only accessible via a paid subscription it is only available to some when it should be open to all. 

Illinois is behind other states in creating accessible means of following the state legislature. This would be a meaningful way of allowing the people of Illinois to see how their government works, hold their elected officials accountable and be active participants in our democracy. 

We welcome the opportunity to discuss with you and your teams on how we can make this process more open to the public. Please let us know at your earliest convenience.

Thank you,
Bryan Zarou
Vice President of Policy
Better Government Association – BGA Policy
bzarou@bettergov.org