State Integrity Investigation

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How did my state get that grade?

State Integrity Investigation overview: 50 states and no winners

Five states want better grades on their Corruption Risk Report Cards

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Open records laws with hundreds of exemptions. Budget decisions made behind closed doors. Ethics panels that haven’t met in years.

Those are among the examples of corruption risk we found in the State Integrity Investigation, an unprecedented examination of America’s state capitols. The bottom line? Not a single state earned an A grade in the year-long investigation. Half the states earned D’s or F’s. Find out what your state is doing right and wrong. See your state’s report card and share it with officials.

50 states and no winners

Some states are making progress toward cleaning up their capitols. Yet many states’ anti-corruption laws are riddled with loopholes or barely enforced. Read an article on the Investigation's findings by Caitlin Ginley of the Center for Public Integrity.

Latest from State Integrity

Illinois taxpayers deserve transparency on government grants

May 18, 2012

By Mark Cavers, Illinois Policy Institute

In fiscal year 2011, Illinois awarded more than $1.1 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations. Yet few know how exactly this money was used and whether it was used effectively. Why? Because information about state grants often is difficult or impossible for citizens, journalists and elected officials to obtain.

That’s why the Illinois Policy Institute is supporting a measure by state Sens. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) and Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont) to make Illinois’ outdated grant reporting process more transparent.

Illinois Senate Bill 3773 would require grant information to be posted online in a centralized location. A detailed online repository of how grant money is spent and what results are achieved would allow citizens, journalists and government employees to catch fraud and corruption at nonprofits that receive grants from the state.

State Integrity News

Editorial: Ethics reform is a matter of "enlightened self-interest" in Arizona

May 18, 2012

State integrity news for Arizona, from the Arizona Republic:

In the realm of free-market ethics, it is known as enlightened self-interest -- an activity advancing the betterment of the community while at the same time also benefiting the people promoting the activity.

It would benefit the community of Arizona if state lawmakers would put into law a coherent framework for what is acceptable in terms of politicians accepting gifts....

Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett gift disclosures include airfare, football, hockey tickets

May 18, 2012

State integrity news for Pennsylvania, from the Morning Call:

Gov. Tom Corbett accepted tickets to NFL playoff games and the National Hockey League's Winter Classic and top leaders in the General Assembly earned outside incomes at law firms in 2011, documents show.

On his disclosure forms, Corbett also listed travel to a November meeting of Penn State's Board of Directors ($812); the February 2011 meeting of the Republican Governors Association ($994) in Washington, D.C.; and air travel ($1,405) to Pitt...