- $5.1 billion in unpaid bills to schools, social service agencies, hospitals, small businesses and others,

- $11 billion budget deficit,

- Highest unemployment in decades leading to lost revenue in retail sales and income taxes,

- Runaway spending and borrowing.
 

Let’s face it: Illinois government is a mess. Seven years of spend-and-borrow policies, coupled with current economic woes, have brought us to this point. The governor and the political party in power haven’t been able to fix it. Moreover, it doesn’t look like they’ll be bringing forth solutions anytime soon.
 
While a change in leadership becomes an option in the November General Election, our schools, hospitals and social service agencies simply can’t wait. So, I’m suggesting another idea.
 
Crowdsourcing. According to Jeff Howe, author of Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business, “(c)rowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Illinois State Capitol Dome image titled Capitol bulding (sp) dome (www.flickr.com/photos/mklingo/166435302/) was created by Max Kingensmith (www.flickr.com/people/mklingo/) and is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-No derivative Works 2.0 Generic License. (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en)

Serving in politics is a bit like living in a glass house. As a politician, your every move is scrutinized and your well-meaning motives are often questioned. I know. Four years on the Elgin City Council, followed by six years in the Illinois House of Representatives, has made my life an open book. The time served also clarified for me why it is important for government to be transparent. After all, it’s not easy keeping secrets while living in a glass house.
 
But, a glass house is not where Illinois government resides. Backroom deals, pay-for-play, and prison terms for governors have been the norm for far too long. Ethics reform has fallen short and the call for greater accountability is getting louder. Read the rest of this entry »