River Forest’s village board passed an ethics bill last Tuesday night, Oct. 12, that put in place a new set of rules that provides new penalties and stricter enforcement of rules.
After a typically contentious debate, the board passed the ordinance on a 5-1 vote, with Trustee Steve Dudek voting against it, and Trustee Steve Hoke voting for it only because it was the only way he could bring it back up for reconsideration.
The new ordinance forbids members of boards to lobby before their colleagues on behalf of private interests, prohibits release of confidential information from executive session and enforces meeting decorum.
The penalty for violations could be as much as $750, according to village code.
Dudek promised at the meeting to take full advantage of the ordinance and his fellow board members to task for interrupting him in the future.
CONTACT: bmeyerson@wjinc.com
