Better Government Association ranks Ohio 40th in government integrity
The majority of states are failing miserably when it comes to enacting laws that enable regular citizens to fight corruption by attending public meetings, reviewing government documents and raising questions without fear of retribution, according to a national study by the Better Government Association (www.bettergov.org), a Chicago-based non-partisan watchdog organization.
Among the 50 U.S. states, the Better Government Association study ranks Ohio 40th on its “integrity index.”
The Integrity Index, a comprehensive report issued by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services LLC, analyzes laws from all 50 states in four key categories:
• Open Meetings;
• Freedom of Information;
• Whistleblower Protection; and,
• Conflict of Interest.
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"The Integrity Index measures the level of commitment each state has made — or, more often, hasn't made — to the enactment of laws that helps citizens access their government and its documents, and hold elected officials accountable, which is the framework of integrity and the first step in combating political corruption," said Andy Shaw, president and CEO of the BGA.
"Our findings show that current laws in most states are woefully inadequate, locking citizens out or forcing them to jump through unnecessary hoops as they attempt to exercise their fundamental democratic right to keep an eye on government."
In a report this week in The Toledo Blade (www.toledoblade.com), Editor David Kushma writes: "Politicians routinely portray challenges to their secret conduct of public business as special pleading by news media, rather than a fundamental right of taxpayers. Ohio governments that are struggling financially to provide essential services can’t be expected to spend time or money copying records for citizens, they argue."
Kushma also quotes Emily Miller, the BGA’s policy and government affairs coordinator, who points out: “The press and the public are one and the same. The press isn’t making some huge profit off of this. It’s fulfilling its duty to inform the public about what government is doing. Newspapers have to pick up where government leaves off, because no state is doing particularly well on [transparency], and I don’t think that things are getting better.”
Rankings for neighboring states include: Kentucky, 9th; West Virginia, 12th; Pennsylvania, 16th; Indiana, 17th; and Michigan, 48th.
Kushma concludes by saying, "When Gov. John Kasich describes our state’s recovery from the Great Recession, he likes to use the phrase 'Ohio miracle.' But on the issue of government accountability, another term comes to mind: Ohio’s disgrace."
For the rest of the story, go to: www.toledoblade.com/DavidKushma/2013/08/04/This-just-in-Ohio-scores-low….