Common Sense logo

Behind Open Doors


We want to know what our government is up to.If officials do bad things or just extremely clumsy money-wasting things, we need to know. Then we can try to do something about it. It’s called oversight.Oversight requires transparency. If officials hide their activities it gets difficult to learn what they’re up to. I don’t say we should be told secrets the public unveiling of which would compromise our national security. But almost everything else is fair game. [Read More]

The Sammies

See who won the Sammies!

Our 2007 Sammie Awards were a huge success. Check out our winners, and stay tuned for how you can enter the upcoming 2008 Sammies!  [Read More]

Sign up for Sam-O-Gram



News from the Web


Transit

Efficient Public Transportation: If London can do it, why not Chicago? 

By Michael Livshutz
September 5, 2007


We want the whole world to see in 2016 that we are a world-class city, an Olympic host city. To prove this, however, we need a world-class transit system. To build such a system, our rail and bus transit agencies are demanding new Chicago and suburban taxes. The biggest demand comes from the CTA.

Keeping an eye on local government: Harold Hamilton, Anoka County, Minnesota 

May 18, 2007


Harold Hamilton of Anoka County, MN, initially formed his website out of frustration with the local government.  Nearly two years later, his site, the Anoka County Watchdog, has already made a real impact in holding the local government accountable to the taxpayers.