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Why Naperville council members want clarity on conflict of interest guidelines

Naperville City Council members say they want more clarity about what constitutes a conflict of interest after a controversy involving Mayor Steve Chirico.

Chirico, who is seeking a second term in the April 2 election, on Tuesday recused himself from a vote related to Central Park Place, a development in the works on the property that includes the old Nichols Library in downtown.

The mayor's recusal came after he flatly denied a recent assertion that his flooring business is financially benefiting from the project. He called the claim "a political stunt."

"Please be advised that my company, Great Western Flooring, does not have a financial interest with the agenda item today, which is the Central Park condominiums," Chirico told the audience. "We are not a preferred vendor (for the project)."

An attorney for Great Central Properties III, which is developing the site, confirmed that Great Western Flooring isn't the preferred contractor for floor coverings. But the attorney said someone planning to buy one of the condominium units went to the business looking for a price quote.

"We have never done business with Great Western Flooring," developer Dwight Avram of Great Central Properties III said.

"We have not received a bid from you or a quote from you," Avram told the mayor. "It's possible our client has, but we haven't."

Despite the explanation, Chirico recused himself from the board's vote to approve the plat of subdivision and the owner's acknowledgment and acceptance agreement for Central Park Place, which will be a four-story with commercial and retail on the first floor and condominiums on the upper levels.

"I do not have a direct conflict of interest on this, but there is a potential conflict with one of their customers," he said. "So I will go ahead and recuse (myself)."

Before voting unanimously to pass the agenda item, the council instructed city staff members to work on a more descriptive conflict of interest policy and code of ethics for elected officials.

The move came at the request of council member Becky Anderson, who said Chirico "changed his story" about his company's involvement with Central Park Place.

"The mayor on several occasions over the last few weeks has stated that he will have no vested personal interest in any development projects that come before the city," Anderson said. "He said he would not financially benefit. But what does the public see?"

With Chirico out of the room after recusing himself from the vote, Anderson said all the council members who remained on the dais "stand for good governance, truth and transparency."

"But sometimes I wonder about our mayor," she said.

Anderson, who owns Anderson's Bookshop in downtown, said the city should update its guidelines for conflict of interest and ethics.

"I think what we have right now is not as full or descriptive as it should be," she said. "It doesn't have much descriptive language to put forth what is a conflict of interest and what are the code of ethics that all of us who are elected ... should have."

Council member Patty Gustin said it's "always a good practice" to look at the code of ethics and professional standards.

Meanwhile, council member Kevin Coyne said he would like the conflict of interest research to examine three specific scenarios, including whether it's appropriate for a council member to vote for funding an event happening in front of his or her business.

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