Chicago Goes the Task Force Route
The creation of an ethics task force is a popular way for local
government leaders to pursue ethics reform. It provides the
appearance of community involvement and independence, and it means
that reform ideas are not something to be imposed by a mayor on
council members and other officials, which can cause a great deal of
resentment.<br>
<br>
Atlanta's Mayor Franklin chose this route in 2002, as did
Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter in 2008. One difference is that Franklin
appointed her own task force, while Nutter allowed community
organizations to pick seven of the nine members of his task force.<br>
<br>
The latest mayor to take this route is Chicago's Mayor Emanuel. What
is unusual about his use of the task force is that he is not responding to a
scandal, but rather doing what he promised in his campaign.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/pre…; target="”_blank”">a
press release on Wednesday</a>, Emanuel appointed "four leading
reformers" and gave them four months to recommend reforms to the
city's ethics ordinance. Emanuel called the current ethics ordinance
"vague and lack[ing in] the mechanisms to deter abuse." He said he
wanted the task force "to recommend reforms that ensure government
is honest and accountable to the taxpayers."<br>
<br>
One problem with this description of the task force's mission is
that it focuses on the ethics ordinance rather than the city's
ethics program, as if an ethics program consists of laws rather than
training, advice, disclosure, and enforcement. This is consistent
with the fact that the task force is staffed not with government
ethics professionals, but with "a pro bono team of senior attorneys"
from <a href="http://www.jonesday.com/home.aspx" target="”_blank”">a huge law firm</a>
that most likely represents numerous companies that do business with
the city and, therefore, will be conflicted. There is also a problem
with a large law firm providing pro bono services to a mayor who is
in a position to help its clients. It would be better if the law
firm, or anyone in a position to obtain benefits from government,
were paid its going rate. In any event, it is not clear that the
firm's Chicago office has any expertise in local government ethics.<br>
<br>
Another problem is the task force's stated goal of ensuring that
government is honest and accountable. Government ethics has little
to do with honesty, and is only a minor player in a government's
accountability to its citizens. It is important that government
ethics reform is not burdened with expectations it cannot possibly
meet.<br>
<br>
Two of the four task force members have been involved in ethics
reform at the state level, but the other two are, respectively, a
former prosecutor and an alderman. It's worth noting that no one from the ethics board or its staff is represented on the task force. Hopefully, the task force will make use of their expertise.<br>
<br>
Fortunately, one of the ethics reformers, task force chair Cindi Canary, clearly knows what's what. According to <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/9287441-417/emanuel-names-four-reformers-to-rev…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Chicago <i>Sun-Times</i></a>, she said, "You can design
statutorily elegant programs. But, you also need a culture that
supports your ordinance. You need leadership." She says that the
task force is not going to limit itself to the ethics ordinance, but
also look at such things as the city's two inspector generals.<br>
<br>
But four months, including the holiday season, is a short time for four
people and their likely inexperienced lawyers to deal with a huge
city's ethics program, including such issues as coordinating ethics
agencies, and bringing the board of aldermen, independent agencies,
public-private partnerships, contractors, permittees, grantees, and
others into a comprehensive ethics program.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
203-859-1959