Next month, Alderman Daniel Solis (25th Ward) will be biking along Amsterdam’s scenic canals on a trip paid for by Biking Belong, a Boulder, Colo., not-for-profit bicycle-advocacy group. Although Solis posted about the trip and its $2,000 price tag on Twitter, nothing in the Chicago municipal code requires him or any other city official to disclose trips paid for by third parties.

Not surprisingly, Chicago has some of the most lenient laws regulating travel by elected officials. Even the corruption-ridden state of Illinois requires public figures to report trips paid for by third parties. The city’s municipal code does require politicians to publicly announce gifts of more than $500, but doesn’t consider vacations to be gifts. The problem is that these vacations often include extravagant meals, golf outings and entertainment.

While traveling abroad to study another city in order to better Chicago is certainly a noble cause, there needs to be some oversight. No one can deny Chicago has a dirty history of politicians abusing their power, and not requiring them to publicly disclose travel sets a bad precedent.

Many of former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s trips to China were paid for by World Business Chicago. Daley used these opportunities to promote Chicago abroad, study high-speed rail and create stronger relations with Chinese businesses. All of these could bring beneficial innovation to Chicago, and shouldn’t be discouraged.

However, conflicts of interest arise when these trips coincide with proposed legislation. With Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s enthusiasm for creating a more bike-friendly city, it’s clear why Biking Belong would want to send Solis to Amsterdam.

Obviously, it’s within a not-for-profit’s right to pay for a public official to study something as non-controversial as bicycles. It’s part of the organization’s mission to promote bike-friendly legislation, and studying the most renowned bicycling city in the world would be a good way to implement a similar system in Chicago. The current law creates a gray area, though, that can be overstepped. An organization could easily bribe an alderman or other city official with a trip in order to get votes on legislation favorable to them, and the public would be oblivious.

Solis was right in disclosing the trip, even though he didn’t have to. Other aldermen might not be so honorable, and with no law requiring them to be, their actions would be legal. Emanuel has been working hard to clean up city government, and here is a prime example of a way to keep politicians more honest. Travel that helps Chicago doesn’t need to stop, but it does need to be transparent.