Better Government Association records

Descriptive Summary

Title: Better Government Association records
Dates: 1904-1990,
Predominant Dates: bulk 1923-1990
Creator: Better Government Association (Ill.)
Size: 274 linear ft.
Size: 20 cassettes.
Size: 2 audio reels.
Language: Material is in English unless otherwise noted.

Conditions for Access

Written permission of the BGA is required in order to consult this collection. Unprocessed additions are closed to researchers at this time. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a sound copy, not the original (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Conditions Governing Use

Contact the archives for more information on licensing and permissions for use and reproduction.

Preferred Citation

A common citation for archives is as follows: Item, Folder number and/or title, Box number, Collection title, ID number, Repository name, location.

Custodial History

Gift of the Better Government Association beginning in 1974 (M1976.0015; 1983.0513; 2002.0167; 2002.0168).

Scope and Content

Candidates' statements, topically-arranged investigation files, newsclippings, press releases, minutes, and correspondence of the BGA, a Chicago non-profit, investigative organization founded in 1923 that has focused media attention on waste and corruption in city, state, and federal government. Topics are primarily Chicago area cases, including the Alderman Thomas Keane case; investigations of government agencies, policies, and contracts, especially in health care, nursing homes, public housing, the Metropolitan Sanitary District; and an investigation of private employment agencies. Included are files from the mid-1980s from a Washington, D.C., office operated by the BGA to investigate national defense spending, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, and government contracts with the Frigitemp Corporation, Litton Industries, and Cattle King Packing Company.

Related Material

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Better Government Association visual materials, the Fred W. Blaisdell papers; and publications of the Better Government Association, cataloged separately.

Descriptive inventory available but does not include later additions to the collection.

Contents

Collection Access