How Cook County Townships Waste Your Money

EXCLUSIVE BGA / ABC 7 NEWS INVESTIGATION: HOW TOWNSHIPS WASTE YOUR MONEY THE TAXING FACTS ABOUT TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT Chicago - November 26, 2009 - The Better Government Association and ABC 7 News have joined together to expose massive waste and mismanagement by the Townships of Cook County. Fed up and frustrated taxpayers can be grateful on this Thanksgiving holiday that the truth about this antiquated and highly-politicized layer of government is finally being told. BGA Executive Director Andy Shaw said, "The State of Illinois has more layers of government than any other state in the union and Cook County Townships are a seldom scrutinized bureaucracy spending millions of your tax dollars with virtually zero oversight. Until now, nobody's paid attention and taxpayers just continue to pay the bills with no questions asked. Today, the BGA, in an historic partnership with ABC's I-Team, are working to change that equation. We believe it is time for taxpayers to find out if townships are an unnecessary and unproductive drain on our limited resources." The BGA and ABC 7's Investigative Reporter Chuck Goudie combed through reams of data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to reveal what few people have seen before. Working with a BGA forensic accountant, we are shedding light on where your money is being spent and how it is being wasted. We've assembled an interactive map and we're making a complete payroll database public because we think you should know what your government is doing or not doing. •Should it cost $50,000 to maintain one mile of road? •Should dozens of townships employ assessors at a cost of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars when those township assessors do NO assessments? •Should an Illinois State Senator making over $88,000 a year be paid an additional $70,000 a year to be Stickney Township Supervisor -- a part-time job? •Should the townships provide do-little jobs for friends, families and supporters of politicians? THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO LEARN MORE & HELP US STOP THESE ABUSES: 1. Go to BetterGov.org and use our interactive map to see what your township is up to. We've provided the name, telephone number and e-mail address for each of the township supervisors so you can speak out and tell them what you think about what the BGA and ABC 7 discovered during our ongoing investigation. 2. Watch ABC 7's video. 3. Go to BetterGov.org and click on Payroll Database to see the entire township employee payroll. While you are there, sign up to join the BGA in our fight to eliminate waste, fraud, corruption, malfeasance and mismanagement from all levels of our government. CONTACT: Mark LaMet Director of Investigations (312) 427-8330 Better Government Association 11 E. Adams Street, Suite 608 - Chicago IL 60603 P (312) 427-8330 F (312) 386-9203 www.bettergov.org The Better Government Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter RSS Feed