The Illinois House of Representatives is debating how people should receive public notices.

House Bill 1869 would allow state and local governments to post public notices exclusively on the Internet. Public notices are currently printed in local newspapers.

Don Bricker, publisher of the DeKalb Daily Chronicle, said despite saving the public some tax dollars, the new bill would make the Illinois government less transparent, since 18 percent of the DeKalb population does not have Internet access.

According to a 2009 census report, 31 percent of the United States population still does not have Internet access.

Bricker said a lack of public notices in the Daily Chronicle would also mean they would see less revenue coming in. While the loss in revenue from not printing public notices would not be overly significant for the newspaper but that it would still incur a cost, Bricker said.

State Rep. Robert Pritchard said he did not disagree that the bill would make the Illinois government less transparent.

“[The bill] would have different impacts all across the state of Illinois,” Pritchard said.

He said the bill is not ready to leave committee until various government entities can reach a compromise concerning the budget.

“Bills are often used as ways to get different people to come to the negotiating table and unless the Illinois Press Association and other governmental entities can come together to reach a compromise, then the bill will not pass the committee process,” Pritchard said.

The Illinois Press Association has declared its opposition to the bill in a notice posted on its website.

“The hornet’s nest has been kicked,” the post reads. “The Illinois newspaper industry is going to fight with its collective might to defeat HB 1869 and to keep the elected officials and government entities accountable to the public.”

DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen said he does not believe the bill would affect the transparency of local governments.

“[The bill] does not impede transparency at all,” Povlsen said. “I think this bill is threatening local newspapers and they’re running scared. If you’re still using print advertising to fund your newspaper…well, those days are over.”

Povlsen said he thinks more people have a computer with Internet access today than a subscription to a local newspaper and that the bill may work to increase governmental transparency. Those who do not have Internet access could use the local library, he added.

“When people truly want to find information, they will find a way to,” Povlsen said.

He added that this bill would help local governments save money.

“In this day and age, everyone is talking about saving money, and this is taxpayer money we’re saving,” Polvsen said. “My question is, where do we start cutting? Everyone wants budget cuts unless it affects them.”

Sycamore Mayor Ken Mundy agreed with the Illinois Press Association on some levels. If public notices were only posted on the Internet, not enough people would be able to take advantage of them, Mundy said.

Mundy said public notices should still be published in the newspaper, but the bill would be economical for government budgets.

“We’re all working with budgets that have less revenue than we’re used to,” Mundy said.

Mundy added that it depends on the local government. For a city like Sycamore, publishing a few notices for the local library may not have a big impact on the deficit; however, it might be more expensive for cities like Chicago which have a lot more governmental institutions that publish public notices.

Mundy also said many seniors do not have Internet access, and the same is true for certain rural areas.

“It’s a bit early to pull the plug on newspaper notices,” Mundy said.