Better Government Association

Mayor’s paper teeters on ethical ledge

Berwyn, IL -
By Cari Brokamp, cbrokamp@libertysuburban.com
GateHouse News Service
Tue Aug 21, 2007, 02:01 PM CDT

After Berwyn aldermen cut the mayor’s funding for a city newsletter they said was getting too political, Mayor Michael O’Connor has started his own private, for-profit newspaper that may violate state ethics laws and assert undue influence over businesses that have contracts with the city.

Though the budget for the former city publication, “The Berwyn Banner,” was eliminated, O’Connor and Community Outreach Director Jeanmarie Hajer have continued to publish a paper. The mayor, who is publisher and editor, said his paper is now funded solely by advertising revenue.

Dan Sprehe, chief investigator with the Chicago-based Better Government Association, an independent, nonpartisan government watchdog group, said O’Connor needs to be careful about the message he’s conveying in the paper.

“If there’s any part of it that could be considered political, then the state ethics laws could potentially come into play,” Sprehe said. “If it’s a newsletter he’s using and now paying for himself or with the help of ads, and there are any sort of political tones to it or anything advertising for or against legislation or the election of people, then you run into certain violations of ethics laws.”

O’Connor is not under investigation by the state, the BGA or other watchdog groups for an ethics breach.

The first issue of the new paper, which was mailed to 20,000 residents earlier this month, includes a column from the mayor advocating for the appointment of Maureen Brocato to fill the 5th Ward aldermanic seat, a spot that’s been vacant for more than five months due to political bickering. Sprehe said it’s troublesome that local contractors and businesses might feel pressure to advertise with the publication.

“You get into a questionable ethical area when you are going as a public official in a position of power and trying to raise money for anything,” Sprehe said. “Because the mayor has some degree of regulatory authority ... it would make me very uncomfortable as a business person to be solicited for these types of ads. This is someone who has the power to shut my business down and there is an unspoken pressure that cannot be eliminated no matter what that solicitor says.”

Hajer said there’s no pressure for city businesses to advertise, and that advertisers often come to them looking for a way to distribute information.

‘Perception of undue influence’

That may not be the case after the publication ran a $1,400 full-page Waste Management ad in the most recent issue of “The New Berwyn Banner.” According to Waste Management, the company is contractually bound to place the ads as a provision of its seven-year contract with the city, signed last fall.

“Typically contracts with municipalities, including Berwyn, will include a provision for public education and outreach through advertising that explains the programs,” said Waste Management spokesman Bill Plunkett. “That’s the case here.”

Plunkett said the ads mandated by the contract are usually placed in the municipality’s official newsletter, though the contract does not specify in which publication they advertise. Plunkett said he thought the “The New Berwyn Banner” was city-backed, though he said he wasn’t the individual who placed the ad.

O’Connor said he doesn’t think it’s necessary to change the appearance or name of the paper to differentiate the new publication from the former city-funded publication.

“We worked very hard on the ‘Berwyn Banner,’ and City Council wanted nothing to with it, so the name was there for us to use,” O’Connor said. “If they didn’t want to take any responsibility for it anymore, we felt it was available to us. ... It won’t be ... a very strong editorial paper, and it will be as factual as possible.”

This kind of arrangement between Berwyn officials and companies the city has contracts with may be problematic, said Bob Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for journalism values and an ethics specialist at the Poynter Institute, a national journalism and media ethics think tank. Even more troublesome, Steele said, is that the mayor may be profiting because of city contract provisions.

“(As with) Waste Management, if a local business has or is interested in securing a contract with the city, that could create the perception of undue influence,” Steele said.

“If he’s seeking advertising from the community, he’s raising at least the possibility or perception that he could be using the influence or power of his office in securing advertising support from local businesses, including some businesses that may have dealings with the city.”

Plunkett said Waste Management went through the city to place the ad, which concerns Sprehe and Steele, who said it’s unethical to use city time or resources, including phone lines or postage, to produce a separate publication.

While Hajer said Waste Management did contact the city about its ad, she insists all work on “The New Berwyn Banner” is done away from City Hall.

‘Political tabloid’

Hajer said she and the mayor are the only two staff contributors to the paper, but that city agencies including park and school districts also submit information for publication. Concerns of political content within the paper was the reason the City Council cut the funding in the first place. When the city was balancing its budget in March, “The Berwyn Banner’s” $30,000 budget was among the first cuts to be made.

“This political tabloid has seen the mayor’s photograph on just about every page,” said 8th Ward Alderman Joel Erickson, when he proposed the funding cut. “(Its purpose is) to promote the political career of the mayor. ... The mayor has unilaterally declared that this political newspaper is the official publication of the city of Berwyn (and) has no right to make such a declaration.”

Erickson now says the mayor continues to err in publishing the paper.

“Many people have expressed concern that he is using the name of what was once the ‘official city newspaper’ as the name of his new ‘privately funded’ tabloid,” Erickson said.

“He would have been well advised to produce his private political tabloid under a different name altogether. The fact that he continues to abuse his power and misuse city assets does nothing for his image or reputation.”

Some say such allegations of bias in the past may not soon be forgotten.

“Just because the funding arrangement changes, that doesn’t change the history of the publication,” Steele said. “It certainly raises questions about the wisdom of the mayor in trying to serve the city or the government and simultaneously play the role of newspaper publisher and editor.”

Still, Hajer and O’Connor say the paper is only meant to inform residents.

But Sprehe said officials can never be too cautious.

“Having looked over it, some of it is helpful community information, but there are also opinion pieces that get more on the political side of things,” Sprehe said. “There’s never been a problem in Illinois with public officials being too careful. If it looks bad, don’t do it; perception is reality.”