Village Board Hashes Out Ethics Ordinance

Village trustees spent nearly two hours at a Monday night Village Board meeting, hashing out the finer points of a proposed ethics ordinance and resolution that have been in the works for nearly two years. A final straw pull vote at the end of the evening came to 5-0 vote for approval of the ethics ordinance with Trustee Peter Ladesic voting present.

Following an introduction by Village Attorney Stuart Diamond on the background and new changes to the ordinance since it was public posted online for comment, trustees began a lengthy process of coming to an agreement on the details.

“We’ve been talking about this issue for sometime, and so far, I’ve found no one against ethics,” Diamond jokingly said in reference to the drawn out topic.

A straw pull vote got unanimous approval for the ethics resolution early, but the approval of an ethics ordinance took longer.

Across the board, trustees supported the adoption of an ethics resolution and ethics ordinance for Glen Ellyn, but have disagreed over some of the finer points. On Monday night, trustees debated penalties for violations of the ethics ordinance and how ethics violations would be reported, to who and how they would be investigated.

In response to worries that an ethics ordinance could have a negative affect on recruiting residents for volunteer positions and that the village would be heading to court for any accusation, Diamond said this was not the case.

“The ethics officer would receive complaints and establish a consistent policy,” Diamond said.  He added that the village would likely only proceed with prosecution in serious cases and when the Village had substantial proof to continue—which Diamond admitted would be difficult.

The issue of penalties in the ethics ordinance was a sticking point for trustees and residents in attendance as well. Trustee Carl Henninger asked the board to reconsider the penalties section and said he felt uncomfortable with the minimum fine requirement. He asked that any fine be left up to an independent judge to decide and that the judge should be able to find the person guilty, but also set no fine at their discretion.

Previously the minimum fine had been set at $250, but trustees later voted 3-3 to eliminate the minimum fine, with President Mark Pfefferman breaking the tie with a vote of yes. Trustees Michelle Thorsell, James Comerford and Peter Cooper voted against the reduction.

For the audience’s part, residents were vocal in wanting a strong ethics ordinance for the village—and one that still had some teeth.

Jean Kaczmarek took the podium to remind the board that she had stood there two years ago in support of an ethics ordinance.

“Pass this ethics ordinance,” Kaczmarek appealed to trustees. “If I can live with it, you can live with it. Please do the right thing for Glen Ellyn and pass a strong ethics ordinance. There must be consequences for violating the public trust.”

Resident Celia Rodee told trustees that although she was pleased that they had so thoughtfully debated the ordinance, the time had come to act.

“This has been a thoughtful process, but it’s been going on for a long time,” Rodee said.

By the end of the meeting, around 10:30 p.m., it was clear that the crowd and trustees were becoming restless over motion after motion to make small changes to the language of the ordinance. Trustees wrapped up their comments, but it looked like the matter would still be tossed around more at the next Village Board meeting  before going to a vote.

Trustee Michelle Thorsell said that although she had reservations about parts of the ordinance, she would vote in favor of it because she believed in compromise and the need to move forward. Ladesic also said that he was still unsure about the ordinance and had worries over how the ordinance would be interpreted, possibly leading to trustees needing to defend themselves in court over an accusation of wrongdoing.

In its current state, the ordinance would go into effect within 90 days of its approval, or within 30 days of the appointment of an ethics officer. Trustees are scheduled to vote on the ordinance and resolution at the next Village Board meeting on Feb. 28.

*When first published, Patch listed the next Village Board meeting as occurring on Feb. 22. The story has been updated to reflect that the date of the next Village Board meeting will be on Feb. 28.