Andrew Jowers: We must push the restart button of civic engagement
I am writing this column on the subject of, “An Interactive Partnership Between Citizens and Their Elected Representatives.” Let me begin by first exploring the practicality of open government as discussed by the Involve Foundation (known as Involve) a registered charity. Open government is the simple but powerful idea that government and institutions work better for citizens when they are transparent, engaging and accountable. Open government has three parts: transparency, participation, and accountability.
Transparency — opening up of government data and information on areas such as public spending, government contracts, lobbying activity, the development and impact of policy, and public service performance.
Participation — support for a strong and independent civil society, the involvement of citizens and other stakeholders in decision making processes, and protection for whistleblowers and others who highlight waste, negligence, or corruption in government.
Accountability — rules, laws and mechanisms that ensure government listens, learns, responds and changes when it needs to.
Good open government reforms can transform the way government and public services work, ensuring that they are properly responsive to citizens, while improving their efficiency and effectiveness, and preventing abuses of state power. Here are a few questions for each of us, as we move forward in 2022: How is government working right now? Is government making the lives of its citizens better? Are elected representatives working to implement the collective will of those who elected them?
The answer to these questions determines the kind of city, state, and nation that we live in. President Obama, in remarks about Open Government Partnership at the United Nations on Sept. 24, 2014, cited the importance of supporting civil society across the globe because, “throughout history, progress has always been driven by citizens who have the courage to raise their voices and imagine not just what is but what might be and then are willing to work to bring about the change that they seek.” I agree with President Obama. At times, I think our elected officials are really not listening to our ideas or pleas.
The Illinois Open Meetings Act (5ILCS 120/1) provides the people of the state of Illinois with the right to be informed as to the conduct of public business. This law required our elected representatives to inform us citizens of the policies that they are proposing. There are also times when civic participation, and the exchange of ideas are hindered by the process itself, which is intended to protect our interests. Here are a few observations. First, the meeting’s agenda provides a time for public comments; there are guidelines and time limits for speaking to keep order and to ensure decorum. This action fulfills the (OMA) statute but hinders critical thinking, impedes serious and thorough analysis of what has been said or proposed. Second, the placement of the public comment phase on the agenda is critical if we desire genuine debate. Third, the actual occurrence of public comments in real time also limits public participation. The scheduling in real time for public comments creates a situation where only the most financially liberated of our citizenry show up and participate which skews the results because the voices of those most impacted are not being heard.
Having highlighted the above items of concern, I must give our elected officials the benefit of the doubt that their motives are pure. Sadly, I fear that some of our elected representatives are interested only in checking the box which satisfies (OMA) without garnering full participation of the citizens. What could a fully engaged citizenry, working in partnership with their elected representatives do to change the status quo? A whole lot!
Transparency, participation, and accountability should practice, and encourage at every level of government. Again, sadly, many of our citizens feel that government no longer works for them and have given up on participating. This is a troubling trend which should concern us all. The creation of Open Government Partnership 2014 by President Barack Obama was a critical first step to ensure that our free and open society continue to thrive. Government exists to serve people and not the other way around. Limiting participation, and silencing debate will not make justice and truth a reality.
“We the people,” have a moral and Constitutional mandate to insist that our representatives pursue domestic tranquility. We must shed our vow of silence, abandon our cynicism, and push the restart button of civic engagement. We must ensure that every voice is valued and heard in determining our future.
Andrew Jowers is a minister in Galesburg. He contributes to this Many Paths column with The Register-Mail.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Andrew Jowers: We must push the restart button of civic engagement
