The Illinois Comptroller's Open Book is a searchable database that returns side-by-side results for state contracts and campaign contributions. The data is drawn from public records that are available separately from the Comptroller's office and the Illinois State Board of Elections, but Open Book makes it easier for researchers to search for potential conflicts of interest. To use the database, a researcher enters the name of a state contract holder or a campaign contributor as a search term for three types of data:
- Name matches in state contracts
- Names matching those of campaign donors, which can then be filtered by the recipient of a contribution
- Campaign contributors employed by companies matching the search term
Click on the magnifying glass to the left of each result for more detail, or click the boxes next to relevant results and "View Selected" for side-by-side comparison of the selected contracts or contributors. Each page can be printed or e-mailed to save the results.
Contract information is updated daily based on public contracts reported by state agencies to the Comptroller's office. Campaign contribution data comes from semi-annual campaign finance disclosures that are filed with the Board of Elections by political committees. Try using the database here, or watch the Comptroller's help video for a detailed walk-through.