BGA Policy

A collective bargaining agreement between the City of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents the city’s rank-and-file police officers, is scheduled for a vote today in City […]

Free and equitable access to City Council meetings is a basic bulwark of our civic democracy. Any changes to policy and procedures should be undertaken only with public input and […]

There’s a democratic process, and it isn’t “Turn off the lights and mics”

More open and accountable rules will strengthen government oversight

A unanimous Illinois Supreme Court ruling yesterday in a case called Chapman v. Chicago reverses a lower court’s ruling and blocks plaintiff Matt Chapman’s open records request for information from the City of Chicago’s Department of Finance. The court’s ruling undermines the public’s right to know about the workings of government and is a threat to research, journalism and the public interest. 

The Better Government Association and the League of Women Voters of Chicago support a more independent Chicago City Council, but caution against letting the current body set the rules for the incoming membership.