Mayor Lightfoot To Introduce New Ethics Changes For City Hall
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot says more reform is coming to City Hall, and she's trying to tighten the reins on aldermen with new changes for the City Council.
The mayor promised to strengthen ethics and accountability during her first 100 days in office, and she said new reforms she will introduce to the City Council on Wednesday will do just that.
Some of the key changes she wants:
• Aldermen would no longer be allowed to hold an outside job that could be a liability or conflict of interest.
• Fines would be increased for violating city ethics rules; from the current range of $500 to $2,000 to a range of $2,000 to $5,000.
• The Inspector General's office would be expanded to investigate aldermen to the same extent it does with any other city employee.
That reform clearly is aimed at Ald. Edward Burke (14th) who has been indicted for racketeering, bribery, and attempted extortion. The mayor repeatedly has called on Burke to resign.
"Folks need to get the message. This is a different day, and we're not going to stand for people who compromise themselves; a lack of integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities. It's not going to happen, and I'm going to do everything I can to stand for a different set of standards," Lightfoot said.
The proposed reforms do not include Lightfoot's campaign proposal for a two-term limit for mayor, and to impose term limits on City Council committee chairmen. The mayor has said state law would have to be changed to get mayoral term limits, and she is working with aldermen on committee chair term limits.