George Bernard Shaw said "Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." Our April 23 Tele-Institute focused on accountability, transparency, and community indicators. I think after listening to the information presented on the Tele-Institute it is wise to reflect a minute. We talked about politicians who fail. We talked about community indicators, and sometimes those community indicators do not speak well of us. We talked about making information more available.

What is the one thing that sets apart this democracy that we call the United States of America? Is it our leaders, some more colorful than others? Is it our economy, much talked about now? Is it our own unique brand of capitalism? What is it exactly?

Well, I think a strong case can be made for one simple thing: we carry out our government in open, in the light of day. And, when there are breaches of that principle we correct them. How can elected officials be accountable if their business is conducted privately? It isn't possible is it? It's baseball season, so imagine a manager tells his star player that he is going to be held accountable for his results, except that the manager cannot attend the games, and not only are the results of the games not known, but neither are their locations. That's not a workable proposition is it?

When Joe Enright, Director of Policy at the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, talked about Open Book, we came to better understand the effort at making our State more transparent. When Mary Bucaro, Assistant Attorney discussed and gave examples of what happens when laws are broken we came to a better understanding of accountability. And, when Allen Lomax and Susan Brutschy of the Community Indicators Consortium discussed developing community indicators we came away with a better understanding of how we might measure community progress.

Reflect on Shaw's comment. If we cannot be governed any better than we deserve, then perhaps we should be a bit more focused on being more deserving. That is hard work and raises the bar for both elected officials and the general public.

If we stop for a moment and think about the situation of being an elected official the realization soon sinks in that if any good is to come of it, communication and education is necessary for both sides. If "we" who elected "them" do not make an effort; an effort to learn, and an effort to apply wisdom and not anger, then what exactly is it that "we" are holding them accountable for? And if the "them" that "we" elect do not approach the job with respect and the same desire to learn, then we are all poorer. We police our democracy through elections. Let us remember what Shaw had to say, and remember that we're all in this together.

- Allen McCaulley - Whiteside County Extension Director

As the school year winds down and students and teachers prepare for summer vacation, school teachers and administrators may be looking for summer institute workshops. Illinois high school teachers have a good resource at hand to help students understand local government. "Tomorrow's Leaders: Understanding Illinois Local Government" was developed by U of I Extension, the Illinois Municipal League, Township Officials of Illinois, and the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners.

"While there will be a lot of attention focused on national and state campaigns, local government--which makes decisions affecting the daily lives of citizens--may get overlooked," explained Jeri Marxman, U of I Extension public affairs and public policy specialist.

"This curriculum consisting of eight units can expose students to the various functions of local government ranging from finances to the police and court systems to services like streets, water, and sewers."

Marxman noted that the program has been used in Illinois since 2005 and teachers report that it helps their students connect with their local communities.

"By helping students discover how Illinois local governments solve the problems closest to us, we build a citizenry that is well informed as they vote and more likely to assume leadership roles in their communities," she said.

Teachers interested in obtaining the curriculum for their school can schedule a training workshop as in-service training for larger groups of teachers or on a smaller level with several interested teachers. Teachers who register for a training workshop will receive a curriculum and student handbooks. We have had very good support from state agencies and provide the curriculum and student handbooks at minimal cost.

To schedule a training workshop, please contact Jeri Marxman at jmarxman@illinois.edu or Jessica Wandless, Local Government Information and Education Network Program Coordinator, at tinevan@illinois.edu.

- Jessica Wandless - Local Government Information & Education Network (LGIEN) Program Coordinator