DuPage County, IL -
County Auditor Bob Grogan is throwing open DuPage County’s financial books online, making it the largest unit of government in Illinois to post detailed information about its expenditures on the Internet.

Grogan, who took office Dec. 1 after running unopposed in the November election, said he got the idea after seeing it done by smaller government entities. The auditor’s Web site will list detailed payment information on a monthly basis.
  
“Every month we will be able to do it with very little time or effort,” Grogan said.

While the auditor’s office only has six employees, posting the information online will open it up to “the entire readership of the Internet,” he said.

“I think there’s going to be a real return in quality information flowing back into the office,” Grogan said, adding that it should reduce the time his office spends responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.

The information is being made available without spending any money beyond what was already budgeted for the auditor’s office.

The expenditure reports posted online will be sorted in three ways: by elected official or department, by vendor, and by purchase order or contract.

The entire 2008 fiscal year, which ended Nov. 1, is already available, along with the monthly report for December.

“I want to applaud Bob for enacting these changes,” County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said in a written statement. “This initiative continues DuPage County’s efforts to be a statewide leader in transparency and accessibility.”

Adam Andrzejewski, director of the watchdog group For the Good of Illinois, praised the auditor’s office for making the county’s spending more transparent.

“It’s a massive document of 1,600 pages and details the spending of over $100 million of public funds,” Andrzejewski said. “Public spending should be done publicly; public spending should not be cloaked in privacy. It’s really useful information on the auditor’s site.”

The county joins the College of DuPage, Elmhurst Unit School District 205, West Chicago Community High School District 94, Westmont Community Unit School District 201 and Wheaton Community Unit School District 200 in making spending information available online, he said.

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