Kane County ethics changes already showing flaws

A review of the most recently filed economic interest statements by Kane County officials show that even new changes to local ethics laws may not be very effective in rooting out misconduct. Almost none of the forms supply any insight into the financial interests of elected officials.

When Kane County officials wrapped up nearly two years of debate on ethics law changes about two weeks ago, no one was completely happy. But there was a general consensus that the ordinance they’d written to ensure taxpayers received ethical government representation was better than the previous law. More intense scrutiny of economic interest statements by the Kane County state’s attorney’s office is part of heralded changes.

But if Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon were to look at those statements, he’d find almost every board member answered almost every question on the disclosure forms with “none” or “N/A.”

That information, or lack thereof, was no surprise to David Morrison. As deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Morrison has said for years that the forms are a complete waste of time when it comes to determining the ethical conduct of elected officials.

The economic interest statements Kane County uses are state forms used in many units of government. The lack of information reported in them is a problem in just about every instance, Morrison said late last week.

“As a result, the public is left in the dark,” Morrison said. “Public servants fill out the form but don’t actually disclose anything. The form itself has not changed in 40 years. But the ways that people who invest money can invest and their economic relationships have changed a lot during that time. So now you have a form that provides a horse-and-buggy kind of disclosure.”

Kane County Board member Jim Mitchell was one of the leading advocates for a local ethics policy with more teeth. When told the economic interest statements contain little information, he wasn’t surprised. Mitchell’s disclosure form doesn’t provide any insight into his personal finances either.

“Part of the whole push about having those forms reviewed was making sure people were telling the truth,” Mitchell said. “Honestly, the form is so darn complicated that I have trouble even understanding it. So it doesn’t surprise me that most people don’t write any real answers to the questions. Now, is that an accurate portrayal of any conflicts they have? The only way to know is to look deeper.”

That’s exactly why Morrison has become part of a group meeting with Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon to push forward legislation creating and requiring better disclosure forms. There was no stomach for such a change in the last legislative session in Springfield, Morrison said. But he hopes when state lawmakers come back from break they show bipartisan interest in being more accountable to the public.

Federal lawmakers, Illinois Supreme Court justices and even Chicago aldermen all fill out forms that reveal much more information than what Kane County lawmakers share, Morrison said. But none of those elected bodies has created the optimum disclosure form yet, he added.

“It would help the public to know what sort of companies an official has invested in,” Morrison said. “And real estate holdings are very poorly represented in the current form. If you own some dirt along a road that the government is going to spend some big money on, that’s not going to show up in the current forms.”

Local governments don’t have to wait for state lawmakers. Kane County officials have the authority to voluntarily beef up their forms if they want. Mitchell said he’d be interested in bringing a better form and more disclosure to Kane County government.

“If you don’t have anything to hide, you should have no problem with more disclosure,” Mitchell said.

Disclosure: County can beef up forms if it wants