E-Government

I wrote a blog recently about how the Chicago police department went online with moment by moment crime statistics and locations. I believe that we should demand this of our local governments. This takes crime out of the hands of politicians as a political spin. But now I see that South Korea is about to go online in every area of government. This would mean that the average citizen as well as businessman could access all of the information that the government has in any area of interest (given privacy safeguards are in place) that the individual has.

Builders could find out where the new infrastructure is being installed as soon as the graft ridden city councilmen make the decision. This would take the "good old boys" out of the information pockets of governmental officials. Any person could find out the crime statistics of the schools in their area and make good decisions about where to send their kids. Small businessmen could find out the new zoning info as it comes online. I think you get the idea.

This is something we must have sooner than later. We must all begin to request and require this sort of governmental openness and reporting. It should not cost too much because the digital infrastructure is already there. It is just procedure and policy that needs to be addressed.

If South Korea can do it, why not U.S. ? You can read more here at Smart Blogs. Here is a link to my blog on Chicago.

This excites me to possibilities.