Open Chicago

In March 2011, the IGO began an initiative, named Open Chicago, to enhance transparency in City government. This initiative is designed to increase the understanding of City government for all stakeholders (city residents, the media, and members of the City Council), and to promote efficiency, effectiveness and integrity in the City’s operations that can come only from accountability achieved through meaningful public scrutiny. A full description of the initiative can be found here.

One of the major components of the initiative will be to publish or link to public, non-confidential City data and documents on this page. Here you will find data on City spending, program performance, and other topics presented in usable formats aimed at enhancing understanding of City government and facilitating further research into City programs and services.

If you have ideas about other public documents that you believe the City should make public,  email them to openchicago@chicagoinspectorgeneral.org or submit them via our online suggestion box.

Types of Public Data

• Financial Data
• General Information
• Human Resources Data
• Contract Data

Resources Pages

Through Open Chicago, we will also publish resource pages to provide user-friendly, accessible information about different programs within City government.

• Special Service Areas Resource Page
• Small Business Improvement Fund Resource Page

Best Practices in Transparency and Accountability

Another component of Open Chicago will be to identify best practices in transparency and accountability from other governments. One of the best ways to enhance transparency in Chicago is to learn from what other cities, counties, and states are doing. See what other communities are doing here.