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TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Richard J. Veenstra
Corporation Counsel
DATE: September 14, 2023
SUBJECT:
The disclosure of economic interests and outside employment by officers and employees under City Ordinance.
PURPOSE:
To improve transparency related to the economic interest statements filed by City officers and employees, reduce duplicative administrative requirements, and to modernize City policy with respect to outside employment.
BACKGROUND:
In 1984, Illinois "sunshine" laws that applied to local governments were very different than they are today.
At the time, the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act required the City's elected officials and employees paid over $35,000 ($98,000 in 2023 dollars) to annually file a limited statement of economic interest with the county clerk. Although the universe of those covered by the disclosure requirements grew over the years, the information that the statute required covered persons to disclose remained largely unchanged until 2021. Under State law, covered officers and employees were required to:
- Disclose ownership interests in entities doing business with the City if their ownership interest exceeded $5,000 or they received dividends over $1,200 in the preceding year;
- List the name of any professional organization the official was an officer, director, associate, partner, proprietor, or served in any advisory capacity and earned income therefrom over $1,200 in the preceding year;
- Identify entities to which the official rendered professional services in an amount over $5,000 in the preceding year;
- List assets from which the official realized a capital gain of over $5,000 in the preceding year,
- Identify any governmental action (e.g. zoning relief) for which the official petitioned the City for in the preceding year;
- Identify any entity doing business with the City that the official received income of more than $1,200 from in the preceding year;
- Identify any other government...
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