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97‑year‑old ethics advocate urges Bloomington council to adopt a code of ethics
Summary
Barbara Finley Stewart, speaking during public comment, urged the council to adopt a municipal code of ethics, recounting her work drafting McLean County’s ethics code and arguing that ethics build trust in government.
Bloomington — During public comment Feb. 23, Barbara Finley Stewart, representing the Ethics Committee of Bloomington Normal, urged the City Council to adopt a formal municipal code of ethics.
Stewart, who said she authored McLean County’s ethics code decades ago, told the council adoption would “tell people what your intent is” and argued codes are statements of intent rather than laws. “Ethics is a must for self government because the word ethics means trustworthiness, and when trust dies, democracy dies,” she said.
Stewart asked the council to post and sign an ethics code as a public statement of intent and to strengthen trust in local government. The public comment period that evening included other speakers on signage and related items; the council did not take immediate action on an ethics code at that meeting.
What’s next: Stewart’s remarks were recorded in the public-comment period; the council did not place an ethics-code item on the agenda that night.
