Ethics ordinance begins to take shape in Kane County
A revised ethics policy in Kane County would mean enhanced levels of financial disclosure and provide additional protection for people blowing the whistle on unethical activity.
Changes to the current policy were agreed to Wednesday by members of the county board's Human Services Committee as substantive work began on individual elements of a revamped ethics policy for the first time. Discussion focused on guiding the committee to the creation of a basic skeleton for a new policy that is expected to be finalized once debate moves to the full county board.
Highlights of what committee members agreed to:
• All county employees will be required to cooperate with any ethics investigation. Failure to cooperate is grounds for termination.
• Officials elected countywide, with the exception of the Kane County Board chairman, can't be forced to adopt or follow the new ethics law. The county board only oversees the budget of elected department heads; it doesn't control the function of their offices. Therefore, the county board can only encourage, but not require, the elected department heads to adopt the ethics ordinance.
• County board members must receive ethics training within six months of adoption of a new ethics ordinance or six months following their election.
• Protection for whistle-blowers for the first time. An employee unjustly fired or demoted for disclosing information about an ethics violation will have the right to reinstatement into their former position, back pay, interest on the back pay, reinstatement of full benefits and seniority and payment of court costs and attorney fees.
• Disclosure of any campaign contributions and ownership interest by any companies, lobbyists, agents, consultants, attorneys and subcontractors seeking to do business with the county.
• County board members must disclose financial interest in any business seeking work with the county if the interest is 7.5 percent or more. The board member may not vote on the contract.
• All documents generated during an ethics violation investigation are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act unless and until it is deemed an actual violation occurred.
• No county employee may engage in lobbying activities. How that impacts actual county board members hasn't been resolved.
• County board members and employees must surrender any honorarium they receive to the county's general revenue fund.
• All members of board, commissions and task forces must disclose any contracts they, their spouse or immediate family members have with the county either directly or through another entity in which they have a majority financial interest.
• County board members or employees can't take a job with a company or any money from a company they personally had a role in regulating, licensing or awarding contracts to until a full year after leaving the county.
• The county can't hire family members of county board members, department heads or paid appointees, but all current relatives to current board members, department heads or paid appointees are grandfathered in.