Illinois Tops In Corruption, Niles Included

The Chicago area tops the nation in the number of public corruption convictions, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study, and a Niles official tied the village's former mayor's felony to the atmosphere of corruption in the region.

The study, "Chicago and Illinois: Leading the Pack in Corruption" found that the Northern District of Illinois has the most public corruption convictions in the past 36 years--1,531 since 1976--of any federal court district in the country, according to the Chicago Tribune.  

Among the four Illinois governors, 31 Chicago aldermen and numerous state and Cook County officials convicted for corruption since 1973 was the former mayor of Niles, Nicholas Blase. Blase pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and fraud charges and was sentenced in January 2010. He served approximately 10 months in federal prison and was released last March 2.

Earlier:

When asked whether Blase's corrupt actions occurred in the atmosphere of Illinois' and Cook County's "culture of corruption," as pundits have dubbed it, Jim Hynes, chair of the village of Niles Ethics Committee, agreed that it was.

"Yes, what he pled guilty to is similar to what many others were found guilty of," said Hynes, who is also a village trustee.

"These are people who are abusing their elected offices," he added.

Hynes said the way to stop corruption is to publicize it and keep pushing ethical conduct by elected officials and employees.

"It starts at the top, with officials telling employees, 'This is the way we want you to conduct yourself,'" Hynes said, adding those who step over the line should be disciplined.

"If those at the top don't force people to conduct themselves the way they should, it won't change," Hynes added.

UIC Professor Dick Simpson, who worked on the corruption report, presented its findings at Chicago's City Hall Wednesday before Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's ethics task force was to hold its first public hearing.

Niles' Ethics Committee, which is formulating and refining ethics policies and practices in the wake of Blase's felony, next meets Feb. 21. 

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