Patrick Fitzgerald on Solutions to Corruption
<b>See Update Below</b><br>
At a <a href="http://evans.washington.edu/node/2146" target="”_blank”">University of
Washington panel</a> on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Northern
District of Illinois, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, known most recently for
his investigation and arrest of Gov. Blagojevich, spoke about
corruption in government and what can be done about it.<br>
<br>
According to<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009113649_ethics24m.ht…; target="”_blank”">
an article in the Seattle </a><span><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009113649_ethics24m.ht…; target="”_blank”">Times</a>,
</span>Fitzgerald said some worthwhile things about government ethics
and corruption. Here are some samples:<br>
<br>
<div>"The answer to corruption is not
necessarily at the end of handcuffs."<br>
<br>
</div>
<p>Fitzgerald said corruption in business or
government can exist only
if people who know about it do nothing.<br>
<br>
He said that during a sweeping
corruption investigation into the Secretary of State's Office in
Illinois — which ultimately resulted in nearly 70 indictments and the
conviction of Ryan — workers told him over and over that the payoffs
and bribery he was investigating "was just the way it is in Chicago.
... My response is, 'That's the way you're allowing it to be. We need
people to stand up.'"</p>
<p><span>The
solutions</span> he and the others offered were as simple as they seem
unachievable at a time when the public's trust in corporate America is
at a low: <span>a cultural change
that rewards honesty, where leadership
encourages transparency and where loyalty is to an ideal, not to a
person</span>. (emphasis mine)</p>
<br>
<i>Update</i> (July 6, 2009): This speech is now available as an <a href="http://evans.washington.edu/news/2009/07/video-patrick-fitzgerald-ethic…; target="”_blank”">online video</a>, along with a panel discussion that followed Fitzgerald's speech.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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