Better Government Association

City ethics ordinance unenforceable, officials say

Berwyn, IL -
By Cari Brokamp, cbrokamp@libertysuburban.com
GateHouse News Service
Thu Aug 23, 2007, 10:21 AM CDT

Almost three and a half years after Berwyn adopted a state-mandated ethics ordinance, the mayor has yet to establish the regulatory body required to hold city officials and employees accountable to ethical standards.

Such a commission would be charged with investigating any possible ethics breaches committed by Mayor Michael O’Connor in his new, for-profit publication, “The New Berwyn Banner.” The mayor continues to publish the paper privately, after the City Council cut its funding in March. The newspapers’s production expenses are covered by advertising revenue from local businesses, one of which has a contract with Berwyn.

The state required each municipality enact by May 2004 an ethics ordinance. Berwyn passed an ordinance in April of that year, but still has not appointed the ethics adviser and commission outlined in the statute. The ethics adviser and three-member ethics commission are the mayor’s responsibility to appoint, pending final approval from the city council.

O’Connor declined comment.

First Ward Alderman Nona Chapman said she thinks the ordinance is toothless without an adviser and commission in place.

“(If there was an adviser or commission,) that’s where I would be going right now with a couple of things,” Chapman said. “I don’t believe there’s much of a problem, but there are small things that could be answered quickly by an ethics commission.”

Robyn Ziegler, spokeswoman for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, which wrote the state-backed ordinance in 2004, said each municipality was responsible for setting up a commission. The commission was not required as part of the mandate, but it was encouraged. In adopting the ordinance, Berwyn required the creation of a commission.

Ziegler said without the group, the ordinance is ineffectual.

Second Ward Alderman Jim Ramos said he didn’t know why the positions remained empty, but that the ordinance would be more effective if they were filled.

“The ethics ordinance is needed just to point out what can and can’t be done, that way someone doesn’t go astray,” Ramos said. “As long as you have the rules set out beforehand ... you avoid making the costly mistakes that can get you in hot water.”

The Chicago-based Better Government Association, a non-partisan government watchdog group, said O’Connor may be crossing the line with his newspaper, “The New Berwyn Banner.” The private, for-profit venture is funded by advertising revenue.

Advertisers include Waste Management, MacNeal Hospital, Central Federal Savings and Loan Association and the mayor’s political party, the Independent Voters of Berwyn.

Government watchdog officials said asking local businesses and city contractors to advertise with the paper may assert undue pressure on them, and create a conflict of interest for the mayor. Additionally, the full-page, $1,400 advertisement placed by Waste Management was required as a provision of the company’s city contract. The contract does not stipulate which newspaper the company must advertise in. However, Waste Management officials said it is common practice to place ads in official city newsletters, and that they were unaware “The New Berwyn Banner” was no longer city backed.Aldermen say regardless of the most recent issue of “The New Berwyn Banner,” the city needs to create the positions established in its ordinance.

“There are lots of things we should be doing, but at this point at least getting the commission going would be a great start,” Chapman said.