OPENTHEBOOKS MAKES CALIFORNIA ITS 50TH ‘CHECKBOOK’ POSTING: OpenTheBooks.com, the Chicago-based nonprofit government watchdog that has posted on its web site trillions of dollars worth of federal, state and municipal spending, declared victory today in its decade-long battle to force California officials to make spending public for all taxpayers.

This is a big win for increased government transparency and accountability because California is the 50th state to have its spending “checkbook” posted on the Internet for all to see. OpenTheBooks.com President Adam Andrzejewski’s dream of putting “every dome online, in real time” is thus a huge step closer to a reality.

Somewhere in Heaven, Sen. Tom Coburn — the driving force behind creation of USASpending.gov, the website that first put federal spending on the web — is standing and cheering.