PeoriaStory

Chicago, Chicago....

PEORIA -- Chicago, only 3 hours away by car, is a great place to visit between Christmas and New Years Day.

The city empties out, crowds are down, tickets are available, hotels are cheap.  But the town is still beautifully dressed for the holidays, and great sales rule the great stores.

(Our friends who live in Chicago say they don't care who is elected to be the next mayor so long as the town keeps looking good. They're only half kidding.)

So -- here's the latest report on 48 hours in Chicago:  Hotel -- $95 a night plus tax and parking, at one of our favorites, the Seneca behind Water Tower Place.  We were upgraded to a suite, with bedroom, living room, full kitchen and two TV sets. Sweet.

Theater -- somewhat limited this year. We've seen many of the shows or don't care to see them. We saw one play at a small non-equity theater, The Illiad, not great even though it had been held over.  The downer of the trip, actually. But we got the tickets at the half-price ticket counter in the visitor's center, so we didn't waste a huge amount of money.

Museums -- wonderful.  Our favorite, the Museum of Contemporary Art has several fine exhibitions, including a Luc Tuyman's show, one on urban China, and an exhibit on participatory art, where the viewer can sit on it, stand on it, look at a mirror reflecting the viewer.  Mind spinning. And don't exit through the museum shop, or you'll have to buy something.

Two free museums offered fascinating shows. The State of Illinois Museum's Chicago Gallery has a show 'On or of Paper' -- detailing all the artistic techniques using paper with excellent examples from the state's collection. (If Illinois goes bankrupt, I want to be at the auction where the art collection is sold!)

The Chicago Cultural Center, in the former, lovely public library building, has a fabulous show on Chicago  architect Louis Sullivan, who built the Auditorium Theater, the State Street department store, now empty, that lately housed Carson Pirie Scott, and many other landmarks in Chicago, St. Louis and elsewhere.

Too many photos of his buildings carry the term "demolished," showing what has been lost forever.  And like a typical artist, he died broke.

Movies -- sure-fire entertainment when the theater offerings are not exciting (and there's no classical music between the holidays).  We we saw four new films.  All were in focus (something that may not happen in Peoria) and all were well done and likely Academy Award nominees. The best:  The King's Speech.  Also good: Fair Game, Black Swan and The Fighter. 

Missing this year -- breakfast under the great Christmas tree at Macy's/Marshall Field's on State Street.  Despite what a guide magazine said, it stops after Christmas, we learned.  It once ran through New Years, with good crowds.  Go figure.

In fact, it's hard to find out what's going on in Chicago. The Reader once was reliable, but now doesn't have comprehensive listings. There are various websites and fliers, but so many it's hard to sort them out.  The newspapers, shadows of their former selves, aren't that helpful either.

But just strolling down Michigan Avenue and the other great streets is amusing, even in freezing weather.

There's a lot more that we could have done -- jazz and comedy clubs, fine dining, even ice skating at Millenium Park. Ran out of time. Had fun anyway.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

 

They marched, they were arrested...

PEORIA -- Paul Appell of Peoria writes:

The following is an account of my recent visit to DC.  There may be a policy of ignoring all popular opposition to our wars, but there are some of us who are oath bound and morally bound to not be silent.

 

In 1932 Pennsylvania Ave in front of the White House contained many WW1 vets protesting that their promised bonus for serving in WW1 had not been paid.  President Hoover ordered General MacArthur to clear the street of veterans.  The vets were pushed across the Potomac to their encampment in Anacostia.  Ignoring Hoover’s messages to stop, MacArthur along with Major Eisenhower and Major Patton attacked the encampment.  Four of the vets and their family members were killed.  Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler supported and encouraged the vet protestors.

 

On Dec. 16, 131 protestors, the majority of whom were war veterans and members of Veterans For Peace, were physically removed from the fence in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Ave., handcuffed and transported to Anacostia Station jail.   I had an Agent Orange ribbon pinned to my field jacket to protest the government’s failure to fully live up to their promise to care for my Agent Orange injured fellow Viet Nam vets.  We protesting vets were supported by Medal of Honor recipient Charlie Litkey, who participated in a solidarity civil resistance in San Francisco the same day.

 

This historical connection did not go unnoticed as we stood in our jail cell in Anacostia.  Award winning blues artist and Viet Nam vet Watermelon Slim was one of my cellmates.  Unfortunately, we had to surrender all of our personal items before being placed in jail, so Slim did not have his harmonica.

 

As I told Congressman Schock who was sitting directly in front of me on the flight from DC to Chicago Friday night, we were treated with upmost professionalism by the police.  One of my favorite photos of the resistance is a photo of Iraq vet Zach Choate, who opted to go in his dress greens with a chest full of medals from his deployments to Iraq, hugging officer Cosmo.  Officer Cosmo is the bomb-sniffing Golden Retriever who was brought in to make sure we had not hidden any bombs in our signs and stage.

 

Jill and I had received the official White House Christmas card a few days before I went to DC.  It is a snow covered view of the White House signed by all the first family including Bo’s paw print.  For the two hours I was leaning against the White House fence, every so often I would turn around and stare at the White House.  The lawn, the trees and the White House were covered in snow as shown in the Christmas card.  The White House I saw while standing in the snow was a little different.  There were snipers on the roof with rifles pointed in our direction.  On the lawn were armed black outfitted individuals with such high tech weapons, that even the young Iraq vets could not identify them.  Veterans For Peace’s Christmas message to the White House was spelled out in large letters on the banner that I held with one of my fellow members.  It said, “Peace on earth?  Mr. Obama:  End these wars.  Not tomorrow.  Not next year.  Now!”

 

The civil resistance gave me a chance to spend time (jail time) with my friend and former New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges.  Chris wore the same heavy jacket that he wore while covering the Bosnia War, minus the $5000 worth of body armor he wore there.  Though Chris had been captured by the Iraqi Republican Guard near Basra during the Gulf War and held captive, this was his first time to be arrested by US police as it was for me.  Joining us at Anacostia station were many of my favorite outspoken war veterans.  These included Ray McGovern, who as an intelligence official gave the daily intelligence briefings to Presidents in the White House as well as Dan Ellsberg, who had released the Pentagon papers about forty years ago.

 

It is important to note that we were committing what University of Illinois law professor Francis Boyle calls civil resistance as opposed to civil disobedience.  Civil resistance is the breaking of a lower law to uphold a higher one.  I personally was upholding the oath that I took forty one years ago at Ft. Benning to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  If that means jail time, so be it. -30-

 

In an email, Appell stated that he was arrested, and to avoid several trips back to Washington, D.C. he paid a $100 fine. He included this link of photos and speeches from the event.   

 

Illinois redistricting: feeding Schilling to Schock

PEORIA -- Here's a fascinating piece on the upcoming Congressional redistricting -- which suggests Democrats, who control the process, might merge the 18th (Peoria) and the 17th (Quad Cities) districts to create a "supermajority" for a Democrat.

Republican Bobby Schilling, who defeated Phil Hare in Nov., in the 17th District would be forced to run in the primary against Republican Aaron Schock, who was reelected to a second term in the 18th District. 

And the winner would face a Democrat in a newly designed Democratic district.

 --  Elaine Hopkins

 

Hate those evil anon comments? Read this!

PEORIA-- If you, like me, often wonder about all the crazy anonymous comments that pop up on news sites on the web, here's a chilling explanation:  they are Astro-Turf.  The commenters are being paid by powerful interests to derail a sane discussion. 

Here's the article.  And a tip for monitoring them:  

".... Discussions of issues in which there’s little money at stake tend to be a lot more civilized than debates about issues where companies stand to lose or gain billions: such as climate change, public health and corporate tax avoidance. These are often characterized by amazing levels of abuse and disruption. Articles about the environment are hit harder by such tactics than any others." 

Which corporations are guilty of this? "....The IP address on Andura Smetacek’s messages was assigned to Monsanto’s headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri(9). There’s a nice twist to this story. AstroTurf TM - real fake grass - was developed and patented by Monsanto."

Frankly I suspect many of the attacks on WikiLeaks are being generated by government players. China already does it in the open, according to the article.

And did anyone notice that a huge anti-war demonstration last week involving hundreds of arrests of prominent people, including Daniel Elsberg and Chris Hedges, was not even covered by corporate media?  

Democracy Now, the best news source on the air, covered it. It does not take corporate donations, only money from its listeners and viewers. Send it a holiday present.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Schock and Kirk on Dec. 18

UPDATE 12/17/2010.  Meeting has been canceled.  Guess it's too cold. E.H.

 

PEORIA -- Here's an unpublicized event fowarded to me via email that some may find interesting. 

A townhall meeting will be hosted by Senator Mark Kirk and Congressman Aaron Schock, both Republicans, at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 18  at Denhart Baking Co., 101 Washington Square, Washington, IL. 

It might be a good chance to confront the new Illinois Senator and the now 2nd term Congressman from Peoria on the vital issues of the day. 

But will they really show up that early? 

Is the event itself a hoax to drag unhappy liberals out at an early hour on a cold Saturday morning?  We'll see...

  -- Elaine Hopkins

 

District 150 public comments Dec. 13

PEORIA -- While still censoring the public comments at its meeting, the Peoria School District 150 board is set to approve a tax increase -- said to add $35 to a typical residence.

That proposal generated a public hearing as well as the usual public comments at the Dec. 13 meeting.  Here's the audiotape: 

D150 Dec.13

Here's a summary:

• Activist Sharon Crews:  Gave the board a detailed analysis of high school class sizes, which are huge in some instances. See her comments below.

Supt. Grenita Lathan afterward responded "we're working on this."

Crews also referred to a letter she received from the Illinois Attorney General's office that her Freedom of Information Act request to the district should have been honored. She's still waiting for the information.

The board's lawyer responded that he never received the letter.  Board member Laura Petelle said she got a copy from Crews, and it was turned over to the "ombudsman."

• Activist Terry Knapp:  Said he saw the letter, and asked why the lawyer should be involved when the district is paying someone $130,000 a year to be a Freedom of Information officer. "This has got to stop," he said of district stonewalling.

He also mentioned students walking home in the dark to the former Woodruff High School area from Peoria Central because activity busses apparently are not running.  Lathan later responded that the busses are running and students may choose to walk home.

Knapp said a proposal to demolish Peoria Stadium and build a new stadium at Peoria High School is a "bad idea."

Board president Debbie Wolfmeyer later said "these things are not moving forward at this time."

• Activist Sevino Sierra: Told the board to stop wasting money on consultants and unneeded construction. A new gym at the closed Blaine Sumner school is sitting empty, next to Neighborhood House where after school activities are scheduled, he said.

• Peoria Federation of Teachers president Bob Darling: Thanked the superintendent for meeting with teachers, and mentioned rumors of "inflated grades," which are "an insult to students" if it's  occurring.

Lathan later agreed, saying "we should not do that, let us know your concerns." 

At the required public hearing on a tax increase, Knapp noted that last year the board voted down a tax increase, then called a special meeting over the holidays to approve it. It raised enough money to send to Edison Schools to continue that program, he said. Taxpayers "would be outraged if they knew what was going on."

The board also has been involved on other recent tax increases through the Public Building Commission, Knapp said, and wants to make Lincoln School hold 1,000 students, in defiance of research calling for small schools especially in low income neighborhoods. "Raising taxes during a recession, it's sad."

Sierra said "you people are squandering our money. Get rid of Edison."

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 Here are the comments from Sharon Crews:

 

The 2010 Illinois Report Card stated that the average District 150 class size was 11.8 students.  What will that number be for 2011 with the closing of Woodruff?

 All too often people give too much credence to these averages.  This average class size figure is often used to substantiate the cutting of teaching positions and to justify closing schools.  Jim Stowell was recently quoted in the paper as saying there were classes of 8 and 10 last year.  In all fairness, why didn’t he also provide the number in the largest classes?   This method of computing class averages has led to very poor academic decisions.  As long as there are special ed classes and higher level electives, there will and should be some classes of 8 and 10.

I have provided you with the current class sizes of 364 regular division English, math, and social studies classes in the three high schools.  These departments have the most required courses and these courses are also the focus of the NCLB tests.

Every student and every teacher in these large classes are at a disadvantage.  First of all, the larger the class the more likelihood there is of discipline problems.  Secondly, many of these classes include mainstreamed special ed students.  Therefore, these classes with a large number of students with wide-ranging academic abilities present challenges to the teachers and disadvantages to the students.  Few students can get one-on-one attention.

I wasn’t certain how to interpret the Manual data.  I assume that there aren’t any classes of 52, 48, 46, and 43 taught by only one teacher—but that is what the data shows.  I assume that there aren’t 26 classes of from 1 to 6 students.  I think these numbers represent the number of mainstreamed students that are supervised by a special ed teacher.  I hope the numbers as I received them are not used to compute class averages for the district.

From 69 to 73 classes in the three subject areas have from 30 to 35 students.  There are over 2600 students in these overcrowded classrooms.  Many students are probably in 3 or more overcrowded classes every day.

There are 115 more classes in the three subject areas with from 26 to 29 students.  That means that another 3200 more students are in classes that are too large.  That’s a total of 5800 students that are in overcrowded classes in, at least, 184 high school classes every day. 

Only 23 of the 364 classes in the three subject areas have 16 or fewer students.  Only 9 of the 23 have 6, 7, or 8 students.  Please note that Manual has only about 20 of the largest classes.  I believe that is due to the scheduling required by the Johns Hopkins courses.  Manual has the largest classrooms but fewer students in them while Peoria High with very small rooms has larger numbers of students.  In Peoria High classrooms, many student desks are wall to wall with no room for teachers to walk around the rooms.  Clearly, there is little room for growth in District 150’s high schools—I guess you are counting on more and more families fleeing the district. 

 In closing, I would like to share my attorney general story.  Both Mr. Gates and I received a letter dated December 2 stating, “We have determined that District 150 has not met its burden to withhold the requested information under Section 7.5 as the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that release of masked information about students is not prohibited by the School Student Records Act.  We ask that the District immediately respond to Ms. Crews’ request in accordance with the requirements of the Act by releasing the requested information.”

 It is December 13—isn’t time about up?  I would prefer not to contact the Attorney General again—right now the ball is in your court, so to speak. -30-

 

Update 12/14/2010:  Sharon Crews sends the following information, related to the Attorney General's letter. 

My Attorney General victory is on hold for now. I erred in not reading the inside address of the letter from the Attorney General to Robert Gates, the board lawyer. Most of the address was correct (Gates name, firm, firm's address). However, a Clark Street address was also used, and the letter was sent to Chicago, IL (to the Chicago Public Schools). Therefore, District 150 did not receive the letter and I erred in stating last night that their deadline for turning over data to me was about over.

Gates has appropriately scolded me for making this statement at the BOE meeting. Gates now maintains that the whole letter and its contents, not just the address, are inaccurate. He states, "Additionally, the letter fails to address a number of issues raised in my correspondence of October 11. These issues beg the question of who this letter was intended to be sent."

Personally, I believe the whole letter (dates, arguments, etc.,) all relate to my FOIA, but the Attorney General will be the final judge of that. However, there will undoubtedly be a lengthy delay while District 150 continues to refute my request. There is no doubt that District is paying dearly for their desire to withhold data from me—the credits earned by seven Manual seniors. The irony is that I was already given the same data for the other 106 graduates. The only reason I didn't receive this data in the first place is that I discovered on my own that there were actually 114 graduates, not 106 (without names or actual ID numbers). Therefore, I asked for the same data that I had received for the other 106.

I have attached Robert Gates' semi-angry letter to me.  I think it's a bit funny that he is arguing that the wrong address makes the whole letter wrong when everything in the letter pertains to my FOIA and his original rebuttals.  I do feel stupid for not reading the incorrect address:
 
Peoria School Disrtrict 150
c/o Mr. Robert Gates
Kavanaugh, Scully, Sudow, White & Frederick
302 SW Adams St. Suite
125 S. Clark St., Suite 700
Chicago, ILL  61602-1574
 
Dear Ms. Crews and Mr. Roberts:
 

---

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: AG Letter
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:33:37 -0600

Yes, it is now obvious, of course, that the letter was sent to the wrong city--both your firm's address and a Chicago Clark Street address appear in the inside address.  Everything in the letter, however, does seem to pertain to my FOIA--at least, the information regarding my data and all the dates of our correspondence seem to be accurate.   The Peoria Public Schools are referenced in the letter itself--in fact, the CPS reference is only mentioned once--a C instead of a P.  It seems to me that the confusion arises primarilly because you referenced legal cases involving the Chicago Public Schools.
 
Whether or not the legal arguments are in District 150's favor or mine and whether or not they are incomplete are certainly your prerogative to argue and for the Attorney General to decide.  In fact, the information that I requested if I ever receive it will not result in any earth-shattering revelations, so it is probably all much ado about nothing.  I am as anxious as you and District 150 are to learn the boundaries of the FOIA law, so it is the "principle of the thing," not the information that is important to all of us. 
 
I am appropriately embarrassed that I didn't notice the incorrect address.  I will take care of the misleading information on my end by explaining these latest developments (sending the letter to the wrong place) on the blogs where I placed my original comments after receiving the letter from the Attorney General.  
 
In my own defense, I believed that the delay was probably due to your contesting the decision.  Whether or not you would have informed me of that action is, of course, debatable.   

---

Subject: AG Letter
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:53:30 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]

Ms. Crews:

 

Following the public comments you made last night alleging ( and subsequent criticism)  that the School District and/or myself was not following up on a decision made by the Attorney General, I told you that neither the School District nor my office had received the December 2, 2010 letter you referenced in your remarks to the Board.   

 

This morning, I contacted the Attorney General.  A copy of the letter was sent to my office this morning by email.  It is dated on December 2 and addressed to you properly. 

 

However, that is where the letter’s accuracy ends.  Thank goodness I asked for an email copy, otherwise it never would have arrived. 

 

First, this letter is addressed to the Chicago Public School system headquarters.  This letter ended up being sent to CPS in Chicago.  Further, as you know, the letter addresses me as a  “Mr. Roberts” and also uses the CPS acronym in the body of the letter.  Additionally, the letter fails to address a number of issues raised in my correspondence of October 11.  These issues beg the question of who this letter was intended to be sent.   

 

I will be discussing this issue with the AG and school district this week, and a representative of the District or myself will get back to you.

 

Nevertheless, I do recommend going forward that if you are aware of a delay at either my office or FOIA-related issues, that you contact the District’s FOIA officer to address those concerns.  Giving the District or myself the opportunity to correct misunderstandings will be efficient and result in more active communication. 

 

The culprit in this mistake/mis-information and situation is clearly the Attorney General.  The confusion is a result of their mistake, not the School District’s and, subsequently, your allegation and criticism was incorrect and misplaced.

 

Please contact me with any questions you  may have,

Bob Gates

 -30-

Downstate Story 2010 is available and already generated a newspaper story

PEORIA -- Read the inside story on Downstate Story, Peoria's literary magazine, now in its 19th year.

It's in the Dec. 13 issue of the Pekin Times. 

Vol 19 is now available.  Here's the news release:

 

Ten new short stories by Illinois and Midwestern writers, illustrated with original art, are featured in the 2010 edition of Downstate Story, Peoria's only literary magazine.

            The downstate Illinois writers in this issue are Pepper Bauer of Mapleton; Connie Stepe of East Peoria, Dennis Shannon of Morton,  and Don Axt, Jessica Frasca and Norman Kelly, all of Peoria.  

            Illustrations are by Ed Levene of Peoria and Amy Frasca of Champaign. Other writers are Marie Anderson of LaGrange; Robert Herzog of New York, NY; Richard Holinger of Geneva, Il., and Kelly Robinson of Evansville, Ind.

            Published by Downstate Story, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, the magazine aims to present original fiction by Illinois writers and writers with ties to Illinois and the Midwest as a quality alternative to today's mass-market publishing.  It costs $10 and is available at bookstores and gift shops, or can be ordered from the publisher or website.

            The publication makes an interesting gift from the region, and is easily mailed.

 

To buy it, visit the website, www.wiu.edu/users/mfgeh/dss -- where there's a handy mail-in coupon and a list of retail stores that carry it.

In this internet age it remains a print publication -- so you can mail it to non-computer friends or carry it in a pocket on a trip or to a waiting room. 

  More information:    

 

      DOWNSTATE STORY,   Vol. 19,   THE FACTS

 

1.  Limited edition. Probable collector's item. Original art.  

2.  Politically correct.  Contributors paid for their work.  No government funds used.  Union printer.

3.  Something for everyone.  Stories reflect diversity of authors, and include romance, horror, fantasy, mainstream fiction.

4.  Promotes quality reading.  Content  realistic but not X-rated.

5.  Promotes Illinois and Midwestern writers and artists.

6.  Unusual concept for the arts.  Provides outlet for local writers and artists to reach

local audiences.

7.  Original work.  None ever published before.

8.  Quality work.  Stories and art comparable to work in Harpers,  Atlantic, The New Yorker.

9. No poetry. -30-

 

-- Elaine Hopkins

Messiah handled on snowy day

PEORIA -- The annual sing-it-yourself Messiah on Dec. 12 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church was not snowed under by the blizzard. 

Plenty of singers appeared, along with the usual fine small orchestra and soloists. The event was wonderful, as always -- pure beauty despite, or because of, its audience participation.

Peoria's streets were slick from snow but not impassable. And what better way to spent a frigid, snowy afternoon than singing and listening to great live music from the 18th century, written before the American revolution, during the time of England's King George II.

It was handled -- Handel, get it? --beautifully by all.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Give to WikiLeaks: Here's How

PEORIA -- PayPal, Mastercard and Visa have shut down funding for WikiLeaks, but there's another way to strike a blow for free speech and against government censorship, and the new president of the Peoria Area Peace Network, Michael Perillo, has discovered it. 

He's collecting funds for WikiLeaks, and knows someone who will wire the funds. 

Yes, we have to trust him.  That's OK, it's worth it.

You can email him with a pledge, and/or send a check or money order to:

Michael Perillo
3119 West Willow Knolls Dr. Apt 40B
Peoria, IL 61614

His phone number is 309/251-3130.  His email address is [email protected]

He writes via email: 

If some of you are apprehensive about this, please stop and read Glenn Greenwald’s article and think to yourself, as Greenwald says:

 “To recap ‘Obama justice’:  if you create an illegal worldwide torture regime, illegally spy on Americans without warrants, abduct people with no legal authority, or invade and destroy another country based on false claims, then you are fully protected.  But if you expose any of the evils secretly perpetrated as part of those lawless actions -- by publishing the truth about what was done -- then you are an Evil Criminal who deserves the harshest possible prosecution.”

Well said! 

 

-- Elaine Hopkins

Update 12/11/2010:  Here's a story with more information on how to give to WikiLeaks:

http://www.readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/368-wikileaks/4224-6-companies-that-havent-wussed-out-of-working-with-wikileaks

 Among the tidbits of information:  You can buy guns, ammo or donate to the KKK using Visa but not give to WikiLeaks!  Go figure.

 

Update 12/14/2010.  Here's a great piece from filmmaker Michael Moore with many examples of how the corporate media hates WikiLeaks. (Are they jealous?)

Illinois transparency: not great

PEORIA -- Here's an interesting news release:

 

National Report Ranks Illinois ‘B’ on Transparency of Economic Subsidies

 

Chicago, IL – Online disclosure of the names of companies receiving state and local tax breaks, cash grants and other subsidies for job creation is in high demand across the country. According to a report published today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit, non-partisan research center based in Washington, DC, Illinois is leading the way as an example of transparency and accessibility. However, even with the highest rating in the country – Illinois still has a long way to go.

 In the report, Show Us the Subsidies, Good Jobs First ranks Illinois number one relative to other states’ on-line economic development disclosure practices.  Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Ohio were also praised for their efforts towards increased transparency, while thirteen other states were identified as lacking any form of disclosure at all.

“Illinois can’t afford spending big dollars without tracking where they go and whether taxpayers are getting a good bang for their buck,” said Sonia Ashe, Advocate with the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois PIRG). “In a state notorious for corruption, government transparency is a way to restore public confidence.” 

“With states being forced to make painful budget decisions, taxpayers expect economic development spending to be fair and transparent,” said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy. “Claims that sunshine would hurt a state's business climate have been discredited, trumped by people's rising expectations about government information being online.”

 Illinois is ahead of the pack with a searchable database that provides up-to-date reports from recipients detailing subsidy amounts, job creation and retention data, average salaries, and location. While Illinois is a positive example for others to follow, the report still only awards the state a ‘B’ in its final analysis because of the absence of disclosure within Illinois’ film tax credit program.

 “The outpouring of job-subsidy data is a breakthrough for state government transparency and accountability,” said Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera, leader of the six-person team that produced the study and web tools. “Enhanced disclosure makes it much easier to monitor the tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer revenues that are being diverted to private parties each year.”

 Show Us the Subsidies rates the reporting practices of 245 key economic development subsidy programs from around the country on the inclusion and access of information such as company-specific dollar amounts, job-creation and the geographic location of subsidized facilities. Each program is rated on a scale of 0 to 100 (with extra credit for including advanced features). Scores for the programs in each state are then averaged to derive a state score.

 Some of the report’s key findings include:

• Thirty-seven states disclose on-line the recipients of at least one key subsidy program. 
• Since 2005, half a dozen states have enacted legislation mandating subsidy recipient reporting in one or more program, the most recent being Massachusetts. Several other states have moved toward transparency through administrative action alone. 
• Of the 245 subsidy programs examined, 104 of the (42%) report recipients on-line. The average program score across the country is 25, but it rises to 59 when ignoring those with no disclosure. Nineteen programs score about 75, including three in Illinois that scored over 100, thanks to extra credit.

•    “Our findings tell two different stories,” LeRoy said. “The first is one of the steady spread of transparency across the nation. The other is that some states still inexplicably keep taxpayers completely or partially in the dark.”

 “Every dollar spent on subsidies means a dollar less available for programs like schools or a dollar more that citizens must pick up the tab for in higher taxes,” said Sonia. In March Illinois PIRG will again issue a 50-state scorecard on overall state spending transparency, Following the Money: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data. -30-