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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago - Kansas Rep. Kasha Kelley (R-Arkansas City) recently addressed Illinois public leaders and transparency advocates about the Kansas Transparency Act passed by the Kansas Legislature. Kelley's presentation was part of the 2008 Liberty Forum sponsored by The Illinois Policy Institute in Chicago.

Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said he invited Rep. Kelley to speak at the forum because she is one of the country's recognized leaders on government transparency.

"Transparency is like an x-ray machine, allowing taxpayers to look inside government and see how the money is being spent: every check written, every contract let and every vendor receiving money. This is a good thing," Tillman said. "Rep. Kelley led the way to bring transparency to Kansas state government at no additional cost to taxpayers. Now, with the click of a mouse, the average Kansas citizen can find out just how their lawmakers and governor are spending their tax dollars and make suggestions for improvement. Illinois citizens should have that same access."

IPI's 2008 Liberty Forum is an invitation-only event for candidates running for the Illinois House and Senate as well as advocates from around the state who are engaged in leading at the grassroots level in support of liberty principles.

Rep. Kelley has been invited to speak on transparency at the National Conference of State Legislators in Boston, the American Legislative Exchange Council in Chicago, the Illinois Policy Institute, and several venues in Kansas. She also was invited to attend the unveiling of the federal transparency Web site in Washington, D.C., where the Office of Management and Budget acknowledged Kansas for leading the way in transparency.

Rep. Kelley sponsored the Kansas Taxpayer Transparency Act which passed as a part of Senate Bill 316. The act required the Secretary of Administration develop and operate a single, searchable website accessible by the public at no cost to access. KanView is located at: www.kansas.gov/kanview/ and includes information about state expenditures, revenues and bond indebtness.