To: Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Alderman Ed Burke

We Demand A Forensic Audit On Chicago's Finances!

Chicago is famously crooked, opaque and arrogant. The Mayor says we're broke but we DON'T believe him. He continues to fund projects we don't want or need and which benefit a handful of insiders, cronies and campaign contributors. We demand an independent forensic audit of ALL aspects of the city's finances, hiring and contracting.

Why is this important?

49 public schools closed. Six public mental health clinics closed. Mass transit service cut backs. Chicago parks needing expansion and repair. Massive cuts threaten public schools. Joblessness and violence escalates in our communities. At the same time we see the Mayor pushing to give away park land to a billionaire filmmaker and plunge the city into another billion dollars of expensive debt to build a vanity museum. At the same time, Chicago continues to be plagued by corruption and crooked deals that rob us of hundreds of millions of dollars.

It's time to get to the bottom of the TRUE state of Chicago's twisted finances.

The CivicLab is calling for an independent forensic audit of EVERY aspect of Chicago's business. We want ALL the books opened and examined by experts who are not creatures of the Democratic Machine or its allies in business and Big Law. We want all departments, agencies, boards, commissions, contracts and employee records open and put online.

The CivicLab is responsible for the TIF Illumination Project (http://www.tifreports.com) and the new book "Chicago Is Not Broke. Funding the City We Deserve" (http://www.wearenotbroke.org). More info at [email protected].