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Chicago Goes the Task Force Route
Friday, December 9th, 2011
Robert Wechsler
The creation of an ethics task force is a popular way for local
government leaders to pursue ethics reform. It provides the
appearance of community involvement and independence, and it means
that reform ideas are not something to be imposed by a mayor on
council members and other officials, which can cause a great deal of
resentment.
Atlanta's Mayor Franklin chose this route in 2002, as did Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter in 2008. One difference is that Franklin appointed her own task force, while Nutter allowed community organizations to pick seven of the nine members of his task force.
The latest mayor to take this route is Chicago's Mayor Emanuel. What is unusual about his use of the task force is that he is not responding to a scandal, but rather doing what he promised in his campaign.
According to a press release on Wednesday, Emanuel appointed "four leading reformers" and gave them four months to recommend reforms to the city's ethics ordinance. Emanuel called the current ethics ordinance "vague and lack[ing in] the mechanisms to deter abuse." He said he wanted the task force "to recommend reforms that ensure government is honest and accountable to the taxpayers."
One problem with this description of the task force's mission is that it focuses on the ethics ordinance rather than the city's ethics program, as if an ethics program consists of laws rather than training, advice, disclosure, and enforcement. This is consistent with the fact that the task force is staffed not with government ethics professionals, but with "a pro bono team of senior attorneys" from a huge law firm that most likely represents numerous companies that do business with the city and, therefore, will be conflicted. There is also a problem with a large law firm providing pro bono services to a mayor who is in a position to help its clients. It would be better if the law firm, or anyone in a position to obtain benefits from government, were paid its going rate. In any event, it is not clear that the firm's Chicago office has any expertise in local government ethics.
Another problem is the task force's stated goal of ensuring that government is honest and accountable. Government ethics has little to do with honesty, and is only a minor player in a government's accountability to its citizens. It is important that government ethics reform is not burdened with expectations it cannot possibly meet.
Two of the four task force members have been involved in ethics reform at the state level, but the other two are, respectively, a former prosecutor and an alderman. It's worth noting that no one from the ethics board or its staff is represented on the task force. Hopefully, the task force will make use of their expertise.
Fortunately, one of the ethics reformers, task force chair Cindi Canary, clearly knows what's what. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, she said, "You can design statutorily elegant programs. But, you also need a culture that supports your ordinance. You need leadership." She says that the task force is not going to limit itself to the ethics ordinance, but also look at such things as the city's two inspector generals.
But four months, including the holiday season, is a short time for four people and their likely inexperienced lawyers to deal with a huge city's ethics program, including such issues as coordinating ethics agencies, and bringing the board of aldermen, independent agencies, public-private partnerships, contractors, permittees, grantees, and others into a comprehensive ethics program.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
203-859-1959
Atlanta's Mayor Franklin chose this route in 2002, as did Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter in 2008. One difference is that Franklin appointed her own task force, while Nutter allowed community organizations to pick seven of the nine members of his task force.
The latest mayor to take this route is Chicago's Mayor Emanuel. What is unusual about his use of the task force is that he is not responding to a scandal, but rather doing what he promised in his campaign.
According to a press release on Wednesday, Emanuel appointed "four leading reformers" and gave them four months to recommend reforms to the city's ethics ordinance. Emanuel called the current ethics ordinance "vague and lack[ing in] the mechanisms to deter abuse." He said he wanted the task force "to recommend reforms that ensure government is honest and accountable to the taxpayers."
One problem with this description of the task force's mission is that it focuses on the ethics ordinance rather than the city's ethics program, as if an ethics program consists of laws rather than training, advice, disclosure, and enforcement. This is consistent with the fact that the task force is staffed not with government ethics professionals, but with "a pro bono team of senior attorneys" from a huge law firm that most likely represents numerous companies that do business with the city and, therefore, will be conflicted. There is also a problem with a large law firm providing pro bono services to a mayor who is in a position to help its clients. It would be better if the law firm, or anyone in a position to obtain benefits from government, were paid its going rate. In any event, it is not clear that the firm's Chicago office has any expertise in local government ethics.
Another problem is the task force's stated goal of ensuring that government is honest and accountable. Government ethics has little to do with honesty, and is only a minor player in a government's accountability to its citizens. It is important that government ethics reform is not burdened with expectations it cannot possibly meet.
Two of the four task force members have been involved in ethics reform at the state level, but the other two are, respectively, a former prosecutor and an alderman. It's worth noting that no one from the ethics board or its staff is represented on the task force. Hopefully, the task force will make use of their expertise.
Fortunately, one of the ethics reformers, task force chair Cindi Canary, clearly knows what's what. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, she said, "You can design statutorily elegant programs. But, you also need a culture that supports your ordinance. You need leadership." She says that the task force is not going to limit itself to the ethics ordinance, but also look at such things as the city's two inspector generals.
But four months, including the holiday season, is a short time for four people and their likely inexperienced lawyers to deal with a huge city's ethics program, including such issues as coordinating ethics agencies, and bringing the board of aldermen, independent agencies, public-private partnerships, contractors, permittees, grantees, and others into a comprehensive ethics program.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
203-859-1959
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