This Crosscut piece describes how the City of Seattle, which is under new management, has put City data on the web and how people are able to be more trusting of government when it's open.
If you've ever asked, "What's in it for government with all this openness stuff?" the answer is "trust from the people who pay the bills and elect the leaders." That's a pretty good thing that government gets out of openness.
It's just weird that so many government officials don't get this.