Conflict of interest complaints in River Forest are now officially under the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission following action taken by the village board at its July 14 meeting.
Ethics Commission members were under the impression that conflict of interest complaints were their responsibility until January, when such a complaint was filed against a member of the Economic Development Commission. However, when they met to discuss the complaint, they were surprised to learn they were not and that their only jurisdiction related to complaints about prohibited political activities and the gift ban.
Apparently, that section of the ordinance was changed when the ordinance was updated in 2022, a change that Village President Cathy Adduci said was “not intentional” and “made in error.”
Rather than recommend only that the village board correct the error, commissioners held three meetings over a six-month period to review the entire ordinance. The revised ordinance was adopted by a unanimous vote at the July 14 meeting with a few minor changes related to wording. Commission Chair Peggy Daley was present at the meeting to answer questions and address concerns raised by officials.
In addition to restoring jurisdiction over all ethics complaints to the commission, the revised ordinance includes creating a section on how to make a complaint; redirecting complaints from the village administrator to the ethics commission chair; changing references to “Village covered individuals” to “Village Covered Individuals,” designating the term as a defined term with capital letters; and adding language ensuring that complaints are kept anonymous until the commission is required to disclose.
A form for making an ethics complaint will be created and kept on the village website. Each Village Covered Individual will be required to sign a statement affirming they read and understand the ethical standards.
Not changed is the commission status as a recommending body, leaving the village board ultimately responsible for enforcement of the code.
