Elgin officials on verge of agreement to beef up city's code of ethics

Elgin officials are poised to crack down on conflicts of interest and the influence of money in politics following progress on an ethics ordinance enhancement Wednesday night.

Council members expressed general agreement on beefing up the ethics ordinance first put in place in 2004. The existing rules apply to city officials and employees and follow guidelines at the state level. Recent pushes to improve ethics, both in Springfield and in Chicago, provided the catalyst for Elgin to look at its own rules.

On Wednesday, the council members agreed there should at least be better transparency of the campaign contributions elected officials receive. That may involve requiring either council members to announce the contributions above $750 before voting on matters that impact the donors and/or requiring those seeking to do business with the city to disclose campaign contributions given to the city's elected officials.

There was also discussion about limiting the amount of contributions and outright preventing council members from voting on issues when it impacts donors to their political coffers.

Mayor Dave Kaptain said any enhancement to the ordinance must address campaign donations.

"That's what the public sees regarding how people vote," Kaptain said. "The whole intent of this is to avoid a situation where people can make a donation and influence someone's vote."

There was also similar support expressed for rules that would prevent the city from hiring people when it would put them in a situation where they would collect multiple state pensions, known as "double-dipping." Council members also want to keep the city from doing business with people who recently left the city's payroll and moved on to a job that has them pushing for favorable treatment from city employees they may still have influence or relationships with.

Council members balked at new ethics provisions less than a year ago when talks stalled over including a ban on lobbying by elected officials. It would have put Council Member Baldemar Lopez, who is an attorney that does lobbying work, into a conflict between his private work and public service to the city.

Lopez has since announced he will not seek reelection when his term ends this April. However, Lopez remained opposed Wednesday to the suggested lobbying restrictions on both First Amendment grounds and because it would ban lobbying professionals from elected office in Elgin. Lopez' concerns were supported by several members of the council, including Tish Powell Corey Dixon and John Steffen. There were multiple questions and concerns about what sorts of behaviors would or wouldn't be considered lobbying under the proposed changes.

The lobbying provisions appear to have a murky path forward, but the council may sidestep that issue in favor of approving the provisions they agree upon. Council Member Toby Shaw called for the next conversation to include moving at least some changes forward for actual votes.