Thank goodness: The University of Texas System has coughed up three years' worth of federal tax returns after attempting to keep the records closed due to a pending audit.

The documents, which UT turned over to the Austin American-Statesman, show the university system had $23.1 million in "unrelated business income," including from selling extra monkeys it breeds in Bastrop County for cancer research, printing it performs at its Houston medical school, and money it makes from "special event parking" in San Antonio, according to the story by Ralph K.M. Kaurwitz.

The UT system initially claimed it should have been able to withhold the records from the Statesman because it's currently being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. Whether it was the public criticism of Gov. Rick Perry or someone at the UT System simply coming to their senses, they've done the right thing by making the records available.

The story page on the Statesman's Web site also has links to the tax returns, called Form 990, of other major Texas univerities, including Texas A&M, Rice and Southwestern. Form 990 is public not only under state public records laws but also under the federal tax laws governing nonprofits, including private universities and foundations. If you ask a nonprofit group to see their 990, they're supposed to show it to you -- in fact, the more recent forms ask the institution to check yes or no as to whether they've met the public disclosure requirements in the previous year. But you can also get 990s for most nonprofits for free through the Web site Guidestar.org.