Small-town watchdogs search for misconduct, misspending

Chicago Tribune ^

[Pollard]

They are the muckrakers of the farm fields, bloodhounds for small-town waste and corruption, self-appointed guardians of taxpayer money who comb through the books of municipal governments all across Illinois in search of misconduct and misspending.

Kirk Allen and John Kraft call themselves the Edgar County Watchdogs. Others call them busybodies with too much time on their hands.

[Pollard]

The article's a year old but I didn't find it here on fr and it's an awesome story. Two veterans become local gov watchdogs. This needs to happen everywhere. Another article Their Home Page

[Zarro]

Wait. They’re in Illinois? Why don’t they train a few thousand more and head to Chicago? Bet they’d find plenty there.

[Qiviut]

Good grief .... I went to their “home page” and was rather surprised at all they have to talk about .... then again, maybe not so surprised. Wow!

[Chipper]

This article is the problem with modern day government in a microcosm. The attitude of the government officials in that articles pretty much says it all, when it comes to their attitudes about being held to account.

[tang-soo]

As I read this, the huge scandal/cronism of Bell, California came to mind. That story broker over a year ago and to me, was a microcosm of corruption nationwide. These two guys should open a branch office in California.

[Pelham]

Bell is one our Occupied California cities that is for all purposes part of Mexico. IIRC it was one extended family that was running the city as if they owned it.

[Tupelo]

“Donahue said that while Allen and Kraft have won followers, their support is not deep or growing.”

Isn’t this what I have been hearing about “rightwing talk radio” and a host of politicians, including Donald Trump over the past 35 years or so?

Exactly the same thing Obama said in Elkhart just yesterday. Only Obama was much more eloquent and concise. Well if you threw out the ‘it-it-it-it-it-it-it-it-its and uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uhs and the grandiose self congratulating parts of the speech, he would have been more eloquent and concise.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Sometimes spelling IS IMPORTANT! In one Indian treaty, the Indian tribe was to receive a reservation on the Kamas Prairie in Idaho.

Some government bureaucrat misspelled it as KANSAS PRAIRIE and refused to change it precipitating a shameful Indian war.

[T-Bird45]

Good find - interesting stuff. These guys are publishing stuff that usually just gets bantered about at the local diner without accomplishing anything.

[Pollard]

"Good grief .... I went to their “home page” and was rather surprised at all they have to talk about .... then again, maybe not so surprised. Wow!"

This is Edgar County. Just corn country.

This is Paris, the County Seat.

This is just small town USA.

Corruption has always been around but these days I think we have a major case of trickle down corruption. We really need a nationwide network of watchdogs. It's amazing how much revenue sales taxes and property taxes plus all those administrative fees add up to, even for a small town and when everybody's on the take, guess who's paying for it. Us.