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DuPage County Ethics Commission discusses 50% compliance with FY25 ethics training
Summary
At its June 11 meeting the DuPage County Ethics Commission reviewed the FY25 ethics training rollout, noting roughly 50% compliance so far, that reminders have been sent and that the commission's authority is limited by the county ordinance that established it.
The DuPage County Ethics Commission on Wednesday reviewed the rollout of the county's fiscal year 2025 ethics training, reporting roughly 50% compliance so far and that reminder emails have been sent to employees, outside agencies and elected officials.
The issue matters because annual ethics training is a primary statutory duty of the commission; commissioners said the training and reminders are intended to reduce incidents that would require formal hearings and to keep county employees aware of conflict-of-interest rules.
A staff member told the commission that the training notice was sent "a little over a month ago" and that reminder emails were sent the day of the meeting. "Compliance has been good," the staff member said, and the training is expected to finish by the deadline announced to employees. The staff member described additional reminders that will be sent in the days leading up to the deadline.
One commissioner said he was "interested that we have a 50% compliance" rate at the time of the meeting and expressed concern about public perceptions of ethical lapses at higher levels of government. "What's bothering me is, front page of the New York Times this morning... To me, those things all violate ethics rules and proper behavior," the commissioner said, adding that the commission's authority is set by an ordinance and therefore limited in scope.
Commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the commission operates under county ordinance authority and that larger investigations or enforcement beyond that scope are the responsibility of other legislative bodies. "Our authority comes from the ordinance and our limitations come from the ordinance," the chair said during the discussion.
The meeting record shows no members of the public spoke during the public-comment period and no correspondence regarding public comment was received. The commission approved minutes from its Oct. 9, 2024 meeting and later approved a motion to adjourn.
The commission did not open any formal hearings at Wednesday's meeting and did not take enforcement action; the items discussed were informational and procedural updates about the training program and the commission's statutory limits.
