Ethics Amendment Referred to Committee
The meeting was called to order by President Preckwinkle at 10:00 am.
An amendment to the Ethics Ordinance was introduced by Commissioner Earlean Collins. Co-sponsors were Commissioners John Fritchey, Bridget Gainer, Peter Silvestri, Larry Suffredin, and Jeff Tobolski. The amendment stated that no official or employee shall participate in making any county governmental decision with respect to matters in which the official or employee or his or her spouse, dependent, or domestic partner has a stake. Any official or employee who has a conflict of interest must advise her supervisor of the conflict potential in writing addressed to the Cook County Board as soon as the employee is aware of the potential conflict. If an employee or official has an economic interest conflict in regard to property the County might purchase, they are notify the Cook County Board of Commissioners as soon as they are aware of the conflict. There was also a section of the amendment that addressed the hiring of relatives.
Commissionor Collins stated that the amendment would be an economic advantage to the County because it would be helpful in ruling out conflict of interest and violations of the law.
Much of the discussion centered on the lack of information that commissioners received regarding the amendment. They expressed that they did not feel confident in amending the Ordinance because of a lack of understanding. The amendment was referred to committee for study and presentation at a later date.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45
--Submitted by Velda Erie
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