Election board ethics rules fall short
The DuPage County Election Commission is scheduled to vote today on its revised ethics ordinance. The proposed amendments fall short of necessary reform. To date, the commission has ignored recommendations on amendments presented to them by Illinois Ballot Integrity Project and the League of Women Voters in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Downers Grove, Woodridge and Lisle.
Among IBIP's recommendations: There must be no statute of limitations on egregious violations. A truly independent ethics commission must be in place to enforce the ordinance. There must be a way to file ethics complaints anonymously. Above all, commissioners and executive staff must be held to a revolving-door policy prohibiting them from working for a vendor after leaving the Commission - a fundamental provision in government ethics ordinances.
Yet, the Commission says no. Executive Director Robert Saar is a co-inventor for software sold by Robis, Inc., a vendor of the commission. The commission and its attorney approved of Saar secretly receiving royalties on sales. Further, commission Chairman Rick Carney has disturbing ties with the vendor, Liberty Systems, which has received more than $2 million since 2006 for printing and consulting. Carney and Liberty's owner, Bill Barrett, go back years. Barrett was vice president of sales of Fidlar Elections when it donated $3,500 in campaign contributions to Carney while he was county recorder, and another $9,000 toward Carney's retirement party. A year later, Carney voted for $4 million in Diebold touch-screen machines from Fidlar.
Soon afterward, Barrett left Fidlar to start up Liberty. Carney became the government liaison for Pennsylvania-based RecordFusion, while Barrett was a signing contractor for the company. Despite this relationship at RecordFusion, Carney has not recused himself from votes for generous contracts with Liberty Systems. If commission members are unable to live with tough ethics, they should be replaced with people who can.
Jean Kaczmarek
Glen Ellyn
Co-chairwoman, Illinois Ballot Integrity Project/DuPage Chapter