LouC
July 30th, 2009, 12:24 pm
Once again I am embarrassed by my State.
I knew when I was looking at my State Recovery Money site earlier that it was pretty devoid of facts and poorly executed but I didn't realize it was DOA.... :rolleyes:
CHICAGO -- On a scale of zero to 100, it can't get worse than the big goose egg.
That's the embarrassing rating Illinois received in a report released on Wednesday that concludes the state is worst in the nation when it comes to information available online about how federal stimulus money is being spent.
The 50-state study by the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Good Jobs First sought to assess how well states are living up to President Barack Obama's pledge that the $787 billion federal stimulus bill would seek "an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability."
To fulfill that and similar promises from governors, state Web sites were supposed to play a central role as one-stop shops where watchdogs, reporters and citizens could go to track stimulus cash.
While Illinois' official stimulus site garnered a zero, most states also scored poorly -- with an average rating of just 28.
Maryland, Colorado, Washington, West Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania are the only states to score 50 or higher. Maryland's 80 was by far the highest, with Colorado coming in a distant second with 68.
Other states that ranked at the bottom included Alabama, Kentucky and Vermont.
Researchers tried to determine, based on a point system, just how comprehensive and user-friendly the sites are. That included looking at how much information state sites contained about the amount of federal money spent in each place, and found that Illinois' site had no such detail, according to the report.
In addition to stimulus sites, the report also assessed states from zero to 100 specifically on how well they are getting information out about stimulus spending on highways. Illinois was the only state to get a zero in both categories.
AP Story On BND Click LINK (http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/863368.html)
Worst State Stimulus Website, According To The Study Group, My State Of Illinois Click LINK (http://recovery.illinois.gov/)
See Where Your State Ranks According To The Study Group Good Jobs First Click LINK (http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/news/article.cfm?id=396)
I knew when I was looking at my State Recovery Money site earlier that it was pretty devoid of facts and poorly executed but I didn't realize it was DOA.... :rolleyes:
CHICAGO -- On a scale of zero to 100, it can't get worse than the big goose egg.
That's the embarrassing rating Illinois received in a report released on Wednesday that concludes the state is worst in the nation when it comes to information available online about how federal stimulus money is being spent.
The 50-state study by the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Good Jobs First sought to assess how well states are living up to President Barack Obama's pledge that the $787 billion federal stimulus bill would seek "an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability."
To fulfill that and similar promises from governors, state Web sites were supposed to play a central role as one-stop shops where watchdogs, reporters and citizens could go to track stimulus cash.
While Illinois' official stimulus site garnered a zero, most states also scored poorly -- with an average rating of just 28.
Maryland, Colorado, Washington, West Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania are the only states to score 50 or higher. Maryland's 80 was by far the highest, with Colorado coming in a distant second with 68.
Other states that ranked at the bottom included Alabama, Kentucky and Vermont.
Researchers tried to determine, based on a point system, just how comprehensive and user-friendly the sites are. That included looking at how much information state sites contained about the amount of federal money spent in each place, and found that Illinois' site had no such detail, according to the report.
In addition to stimulus sites, the report also assessed states from zero to 100 specifically on how well they are getting information out about stimulus spending on highways. Illinois was the only state to get a zero in both categories.
AP Story On BND Click LINK (http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/863368.html)
Worst State Stimulus Website, According To The Study Group, My State Of Illinois Click LINK (http://recovery.illinois.gov/)
See Where Your State Ranks According To The Study Group Good Jobs First Click LINK (http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/news/article.cfm?id=396)