The City of Chicago is not renowned for being a place of transparency and accountability, but the Inspector General’s office is seeking to change that.  Its hard to bring reform in a time of tight budgets.  But thanks to a hard working team of undergraduates in a new course at Northwestern University, the city is able to address transparency issues while providing students with an opportunity for civic engagement:

Urban studies programs around the country often include a stint of public service, an internship with local government or a close examination of the development and execution of urban policy. But this is next-level engagement, not to mention a rare opportunity for undergrads. . .

The initiative aims to provide Chicagoans, the media, and elected officials greater access to key documents and data, and allow them to make recommendations.  . .

Early in the course, the students will scour the country for innovative examples of transparency in local governance, such as New Mexico’s Sunshine Portal or Manor, Texas’s, Manor Labs, and pass them on to their colleagues at Open Chicago.

You can read more about the project here.