Celebrating Sunshine Week

Sunshine Week, March 15-21, marked an annual nationwide discussion about access to public information and the important role that we – the public – have in keeping our communities healthy, vibrant and strong.

It has been nearly 50 years since the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which grants any person the right to access information from our federal government, was signed into law. FOIA plays a critical role in making our government more open and transparent by shedding sunlight on our government, and empowering citizens to strengthen and improve it. Open government is the cornerstone of effective government, and a key ingredient in fostering the public’s trust.

We all have the right to know what our government is doing – both its successes and failures. Exercising our right to know gives us power. It allows us to hold elected officials accountable on Election Day and beyond. This is an important function the League performs by hosting candidate forums on local, county, state, and national levels.

For decades, members of the League of Women Voters of Glenview have maintained a core of Observers to attend regularly scheduled meetings of various boards, receive written records and notification and may speak on behalf of the League. This function is true within the League of Women Voters of Cook County, the League of Women Voters of Illinois and the League of Women Voters of the United States which attends and monitor at the federal, state and local levels. We believe that transparency and accountability are in the interest of the government and citizens alike. That’s why we monitor Glenview’s budget, watch local government meetings, and work to get all members of the community registered and out to vote. In short, we work to ensure that all voices are heard as decisions are made about our community’s future. Transparency and accountability are critical to a healthy and trusted government.

Sincerely,

Joan Ziegler

President, League of Women Voters of Glenview

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