Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

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The following amendments were passed in 1989. The page numbers refer to the pages in the blue Ethics Ordinance pamphlet. Underlined portions are new language:

p.1 Section 26.2-1. Definitions

Insert the following:
(c) "Alderman" means any person holding the elected office of Alderman of the City Council.

Reletter subsections as follows:
(d) "City"
(e) "City Contractor"
(f) "Compensation"
(g) "Contract Management Authority"
Substitute the following for (g) "Doing Business":
(h) "Doing business" means any one or any combination of sales, purchases, leases or contracts to, from, or with the City or any City agency in an amount in excess of $10,000 in any twelve consecutive months.

p.2 Reletter subsections as follows:

(i) "Economic interest"...
(j) "Employee" ...
(k) "Expenditure" ...
(l) "Financial interests" ...
(m) "Gift"...
(n) "Legislation" ...
(o) "Legislative action" ...
(p) "Lobbyist"...
(q) "Official" ...

p.3 Reletter subsections as follows:
(r) "Person"...

p.3 Insert the following:

(s) "Political activity" means:

1. Serving as an officer of a political party, of a political club, or of an organization relating to a campaign for elected office ("organization"); as a member of a national, state or local committee of a political party, club or organization; or being a candidate for any of these position;

2. Organizing or reorganizing a political party, club or organization;

3. Directly or indirectly soliciting, receiving, collecting, handling, disbursing, or accounting for assessments, contributions, or other funds for any political party, political fund, candidate for elected office, candidate for political party office, or any committee thereof or committee which contributes to any of the foregoing;

4. Organizing, selling tickets to, promoting, or actively participating in a fundraising activity of a public office holder, candidate in an election or political party, political club or an organization;,

5. Taking an active part in managing the political campaign of a candidate for public office in an election or a candidate for political party office;

6. Becoming a candidate for, or campaigning for, an elective public office in an election;

7. Soliciting votes in support of or in opposition to a candidate for public office in an election or a candidate for political party office;

8. Acting as recorder, watcher, challenger or similar officer at the polls on behalf of a political party or a candidate in an election;

9. Driving voters to the polls on behalf of a political party or a candidate in an election;

10. Endorsing or opposing a candidate for public office in an election or a candidate for political party office in a political advertisement, a broadcast, campaign literature, or similar material, or distributing such material;

11. Serving as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a political party convention;

12. Addressing a convention, caucus, rally, or similar gathering in support of or in opposition to a candidate for public office or political party office;

13. Initiating or circulating a nominating petition for elective office;

14. Soliciting, collecting, or receiving a political contribution or a contribution for any political party, political fund, candidate for elected office, candidate for political party office, or any committee thereof or committee which contributes to any of the foregoing; or

15. Paying or making a political contribution or a contribution for any political party, political fund, candidate for elected office, candidate for political party office, any committee thereof or committee which contributes to any of the foregoing.

(t) "Political contribution means any gift, subscription, loan, advance, deposit of money, allotment of money, or anything of value given or transferred by one person to another, including in cash, by check, by draft, through a payroll deduction or allotment plan, by pledge or promise, whether or not enforceable, or otherwise, for purposes of influencing in any way the outcome of any election. For the purposes of this definition, a political contribution does not include:

1. a loan made at a market rate by a lender in his or her ordinary course of business;

2. the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's resident dential premises for candidate-related activities; provided the value of the service provided does not exceed an aggregate of $150 in a reporting period as defined in Article 9 of the Illinois Election Code;

3. the sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use in a candidate's campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if such charge for use in a candidate's campaign is at least equal to the cost of such food or beverage to the vendor.

(u) "Political fundraising committee" means any fund, organization, political action committee or other entity that, for purposes of influencing in any way the outcome of any election, receives or expends money or anything of value or transfers money or anything of value to any other fund, political party, candidate, organization political action committee, or other entity.

p.3 Reletter subsection (r) "Professional services" as (v).

Reletter subsection (s) "Relative" as subsection (x).

Insert the following:

(w) "Seeking to do business". A person is seeking to do business with the City if he (a) has taken any action within the past 6 months to obtain a contract or business from the City which, if such action were successful, would result in' the person doing business with the City; and (b) the contract or business sought has not been awarded to any person.

p.7 Section 26.2-14. Solicitation of Political Contributions.

Delete the existing section and substitute the following:

26.2-14. Solicitation or acceptance of political contributions and membership on political fundraising committees.

(a) No official or employee shall compel, coerce or intimidate any City official or employee to make, refrain from making, or solicit any political contribution. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any official or employee from voluntarily making or soliciting an otherwise permissible contribution or from receiving an otherwise permissible voluntary contribution, except as set forth in this section or in Sections 26.2-32, 26-30 and 25-42 of the Municipal Code.

(b) No non-elected City employee or official shall knowingly solicit or accept any political contribution from a person doing business or seeking to do business with the City. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an non-elected City employee or official who is a candidate for public office may solicit or accept political contributions on behalf of his or her own candidacy from a person doing business or seeking to do business with the City, subject to the same restrictions as are applicable to elected City officials.

(c) No person with contract management authority shall serve on any political fundraising committee.

p.7 Section 26.2-15. Statements of Financial Interests.

Insert the following:

(a)(ii) each alderman; and

Renumber as follows:

(iii) each appointed official ...

(iv) each employee who is compensated for services or occupies a budgeted position as an employee at a rate of $40,000 (v) each employee who is compensated for services at a rate of less than $40,000 ...

Substitute the following subsection for the existing subsection:

(b) Each reporting individual shall file by May 1 of each year a verified written statement of financial interests in accordance with the provisions of this article, unless he has already filed a statement in that calendar year. However, an alderman shall file statements of financial interests with the Office of the City Clerk.

p.9 Section 26.2-17. Form for Statements of Financial Interests.

Substitute the following subsection for the existing subsection:

26.2-17. Form For Statement of Financial Interests. The statement of financial interests required to be filed with the Board of Ethics or City Clerk shall be completed by typewriting or hand printing, and shall be verified, dated, and signed by the reporting individual personally. It shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the Board.

p.9 Section 26.2-18. Filing of Statements.

Substitute the following for the existing language in the subsection:

26.2-18. Filing of Statements.

(a) Not later than February 1 of each year, the City Comptroller shall certify to the Board of Ethics and City Clerk a list (current as of the prior January 1) of the names and mailing addresses of the persons described in Section 18 who are required to file a statement of financial interests. In preparing this

p.9 Section 26.2-18. Filing of Statements, continued.

list, the City Comptroller shall set out the names in alphabetical order and shall file a copy of the list with the Board of Ethics and City Clerk....

(b) Not later than March 1 of each year, the Board of Ethics or City Clerk shall in writing notify all persons required to filestatements of financial interests under this Article ...

Substitute the following language for existing language in the subsections:

(c) The Board of Ethics or City Clerk shall deliver a receipt to each person who files a statement under this Article, indicating that the person has filed such statement and the date of such filing.

(d) All statements of financial interests shall be available for examination and duplication by the public in the office of the Board of Ethics or City Clerk during the regular business hours of the City of Chicago except as otherwise provided by law. Each person examining or requesting duplication of a statement of financial interests must first complete a request form prepared by the Board of Ethics. The request form shall include the name, occupation, employer, address, and telephone number of the examiner as well as the date of and reasons for such examination or duplication. A separate request form must be completed for each statement of financial interests to be examined. Requests for the examination or duplication of a statement of financial statements shall be filed as soon as is practicable. Request forms shall be available in the office of the Board of Ethics and City Clerk.

The Board of Ethics or City Clerk shall promptly notify each person required to file a statement of financial interests of each examination or duplication of his statement by sending to such person a copy of the completed request form. Costs of duplicating the statement of financial interests shall be paid by the person requesting the duplication.

p.10 Section 26.2-19. Failure to File Statement by Deadline._

Substitute the following for existing language in the subsection:

(a) If any person who is required to file a statement of financial interest by May 1 or any year fails to file such a statement, the Board of ethics or City Clerk shall, by May 15, notify such person by certified mail of his failure to file by the specified date

(b) Any person who first becomes subject to the requirement to file a statement of financial interests within 30 days prior to May 1 or any year shall be notified at that time by the appointing or employing authority of the obligation to file and shall file his statement at any time on or before May 31 without penalty. The appointing or employing authority shall notify the

Board of Ethics or City Clerk of the identity of such persons ...

p.11 (c) Any person who is required to file a statement of financial interests may effect one thirty-day extension of time for filing the statement by filing with the Board of Ethics or City Clerk...

p.14 Article 4. Board of Ethics.

Insert the following new section as Section 26.2-32 and renumber the remaining sections as follows:

26.2-32. Political Activities of Board Members and Certain Employees. No member or employee of the Board shall engage in political activity as defined in Chapter 26.2-1 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, as amended. Nothing in this section shall apply to activity in connection with an election of a local school council under Article 34 of the Illinois School Code, as amended.

26.2-33. Chair and Vice Chair... 26.2-34. Removal of members...

p.15 26.2-35. Records

26.2-36. Records

26.2-37. Compensation

26.2-38. Powers and Duties

p.16 26.2-39. Actions on Complaints or Investigations

p.17 26.2-40. Confidentiality

26.2-41. Sanctions

26.2-42. Judicial Penalties

p.18 26.2-43. Invalid Actions

26.2-44. Other Remedies

26.2-45. Relationship to Other Laws

26.2-46. Sanctions Applicable to Ethics Board

26.2-47. Severability

Section 26-30. Prohibitions on Political Activity.

This section has been amended by inserting the language underscored, as follows:

26-30. Neither the Purchasing Agent nor any member of the Commission on Human Relations nor any employee of the Department of Purchases, Contracts and Supplies, the Department of Revenue, the Building Board of Appeals, or the Commission on Human Relations shall engage in political activity as defined in Chapter 26.2 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, as amended. Nothing in this section shall apply to activity in connection with an election of a local school council under Article 34 of the Illinois School Code, as amended.

Chapter 19. Office of Inspector General.

Section 19-15. Neither the Inspector General nor any employee of the Office of Inspector General shall engage in any political activity as defined in Chapter 26.2 of the Municipal Code.