Juggling Two Types of Ethics Reform in DuPage County (IL)
<a href="http://www.dupageco.org/" target="”_blank”">DuPage County, IL</a>, a county of
nearly a million people just outside Chicago (its largest town is
Naperville), is juggling two ethics ordinance revision processes, one
for the county, the other for the county election commission. Both
appear to have attracted some controversy.<br>
<br>
<b>County Ethics Ordinance</b><br>
The county board is not seeking major ethics reforms. The <a href="http://www.dupageco.org/ProposedChangestoCountyEthicsPolicy.pdf" target="”_blank”">principal
proposed changes in the county's ethics ordinance</a> are a
whistleblower provision, reporting of allowed gifts from prohibited
sources, reporting by county vendors of contributions in toto (that is,
to all candidates put together) of $1,000 a year, a prohibited
employment provision, and no statute of limitations on ethics
complaints (the current ethics code requires filing of a complaint
within 30 days of learning of a violation, and within two years of the
violation).<br>
<br>
But according to <a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=319756&src" target="”_blank”">an article</a> this week in the <i>Daily Herald</i>, some county
board members want to make more changes to the ethics code. For example, one wants
to limit campaign contributions from county vendors and unions,
although another county board member feels that this should be dealt
with in the county's procurement policy.<br>
<br>
One odd thing about the ethics code that doesn't seem to bother people
is that the code applies only to county board members and county
employees. Other elected officials have, pursuant to §2-404 of the
code, the right to adopt the ethics code or something more restrictive. But if they choose not to adopt either, the ethics commission has no jurisdiction over
them. I've never seen this before.<br>
<br>
I assume that the reason for such a
rule is that these officials are separately elected and, therefore,
it is felt that their conflicts are their own business or, at least, not the business
of the county board or the county ethics commission. But their conflicts are the public's business, the same public that elected the county board. Separate ethics codes for each elected official is, I believe, a really stupid idea. It says to me that elected officials put their power ahead of their obligations to the public.<br>
<br>
<b>County Election Commission Ethics Ordinance</b><br>
One would think that county ethics reform would be attracting more
attention than a <a href="http://cms.dupageelections.com/uploads/JID37_ethicsordinance.080709%20d…; target="”_blank”">draft
ethics code for election commission</a> members and staff, but that
isn't the case. One reason is that, according to <a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=264123&src=2" target="”_blank”">an article in
the <i>Daily Herald</i></a>, the commission's executive director had developed
election software that he was purportedly promoting through his
position. Also, he had a business relationship with a commission vendor.<br>
<br>
Another reason is that, according to <a href="http://www.cdobs.com/archive/our-columns/transparency-and-the-dupage-co…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Chicago <i>Observer</i></a>, the commission was cited by the
Illinois Attorney General for long-term transparency problems, and it
was not posting its ethics ordinance so that people could make comments
about it.<br>
<br>
A third reason, according to the <i>Observer</i> article, is that the
commission "spent millions of federal dollars on Diebold electronic
touch screen
voting machines that most DuPage voters do not trust and refuse to use."<br>
<br>
For these reasons, DuPage citizens want to be sure that the election
commission's ethics are well scrutinized and that there is an
opportunity for a lot of citizen input. Besides this, the League of
Women Voters, in <a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=314849" target="”_blank”">a
letter to the editor</a>, wants to add financial disclosure
statements and a duty to report ethics
violations
and to cooperate in investigations.<br>
<br>
The DuPage chapter of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, in another
<a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=319096" target="”_blank”">letter to the
editor</a>, calls for a truly independent ethics commission, not one
selected by the
election commission; whistleblower protection; no statute of
limitations; and strict prohibitions of
business ties with vendors and of reimbursement of travel expenses for
personal financial gain.<br>
<br>
And according to <a href="http://www.triblocal.com/Elmhurst/Detail_View/view.html?type=stories&ac…; target="”_blank”">an article</a> in the <i>Trib Local</i>, the county Democrats are up in arms about the fact that a Republican party man was named Ethics Officer, that the ordinance does not have a revolving door provision, and that its fundraising and gift provisions have too many loopholes.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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