Call for action on stalled Chicago government ethics ordinance by BGA

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Saturday, August 31, 2024
Call for action on stalled Chicago government ethics ordinance by BGA
There are currently four different ethics ordinances stalled in City Council. None of them have the backing Mayor Brandon Johnson.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There are currently four different ethics ordinances stalled in City Council. These range from simple technical fixes to major campaign finance reforms. However, none of them have the backing of the mayor.

Right now, City Council has an unprecedented number of ethics-related ordinances before it, none of which have received mayoral support or been able to advance to a vote in Council.

In August of last year, the city's Board of Ethics publicly put forward a proposed package of ethics ordinance amendments. The ordinance needed to enact the passage was introduced in January and hasn't moved since.

Two smaller technical fixes have also failed to advance - including one, which would have made an existing ban on lobbyist contributions to mayoral campaigns enforceable. It was punted by mayoral allies on the Council floor using a parliamentary maneuver.

Geoffrey Cubbage, Policy Analyst from the Better Government Association joined ABC7 to talk more about the issue.