JULY 27, 2011 — A BGA/CBS2 investigation into a free lunch program for lower-income students at Chicago Public Schools uncovered instances of kids who didn’t qualify for the program. Following the probe, CPS moved to fire more than a dozen employees.
News
Posted inNews
BGA to Gov. Quinn: Defend Open, Public Records
In this open letter published in the Chicago Sun-Times, BGA President & CEO Andy Shaw encourages Gov. Pat Quinn to protect the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, which is under attack in Springfield.
Posted inNews, Results & Reforms
CREDIT CARD PRIVILEGES REVOKED
JULY 12, 2011 — A BGA/FOX Chicago News investigation into credit abuses at governmental agencies prompts the Regional Transportation Authority to cut back on the number of charge cards assigned to its administrators—one of whom used a taxpayer-funded card to pay for her daughter’s high school tuition.
Posted inNews, Results & Reforms
TERMINATION
JULY 1, 2011 — A BGA/CBS2 investigation finds that a city worker at Midway Airport had allowed his friends to bypass security because they were running late for a flight. The BGA and CBS2 also find that city officials, rather than fire the worker when this came to light, put him on paid leave, then gave him another job with more pay. Only after the story aired did supervisors
Posted inNews
BGA Highlights: April, May, June 2011
Landmark investigations, new good-government tools, and most importantly: results.
Posted inNews, Results & Reforms
CREDIT CARDS CANCELLED
JUNE 27, 2011 — After a BGA/WGN-TV investigation into Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch’s spending, the city council eliminates all but one city credit card.
Posted inInvestigations, News
Suburban Mayor Living ‘Country Club’ Lifestyle, Courtesy Taxpayers
Times may be rough, but in Country Club Hills, the mayor is rolling in the green, courtesy of taxpayers and donors to his campaign fund, according to a review by the Better Government Association.
Posted inInvestigations, News
Country Club Hills’ Big-Spending, Unabashed Mayor
This BGA/WGN-TV investigation shines a light on Mayor Dwight W. Welch and his hefty expense account. He says he spends (taxpayer) money to make money for the south suburban town — is he missing the basic principles of good government?
Posted inInvestigations, News
Elmwood Park Leaders Get Home Improvements on Village’s Time
“At the very best it’s a conflict of interest,” Andy Shaw, BGA president and CEO, said. “A good reform would be to make it illegal for a public sector employee to do work for his employer, even on his own time.”
Posted inNews
A Landmark BGA Investigation: ‘The High Costs of Wrongful Convictions’
A seven-month investigation by the Better Government Association (BGA) and the Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) reveals the wrongful convictions of 85 men and women for violent crimes in Illinois has cost taxpayers more than $214 million, and imprisoned innocent people for more than 900 years.
