CityPayments was covered pretty well in a Sun-Times editorial last week. In it, they encourage citizens to use the site to tip off reporters. Here's some snips:
In a clever use of technology to bring information to the masses, two civic-minded, tech-savvy guys — Daniel X. O'Neil and Harper Reed — have set up a Web site, citypayments.org, that offers a searchable database of thousands of city contracts for a variety of goods and services, from Chevy Impalas to toilet seats.
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Who knows? Maybe a business aced out of a city contract by a clout-heavy rival will anonymously drop a dime at the site. Maybe a city employee, frustrated by waste in her department, will point out a few interesting secret facts about a contract — again anonymously.
This could turn into a fine fishing ground for reporters and prosecutors.
At the very least, it offers an education on how Chicago spends our tax dollars.
The more folks who plunge into the site, the more interesting things might get.
Get snooping.