Niles Ethics Board To Sort Through Changes; Critics Say It Dilutes Independence

 
The Niles Ethics Board got reshuffled in late July, with Mayor Andrew Przybylo adding an inspector general and a new member, Steven Ostrega, and removing attorney Mike Siegel, who was a consultant to the board. New member Denise McCreery also joined the board recently.

The board will meet Tuesday, Aug. 20 (see agenda), in its new form and talk about each of what Chair Anthony Gaudio has outlined as five major changes.

An inspector general has not been named yet, and Gaudio said the Ethics Board would discuss what qualifications they would like the person in this position to have.

Under the new practices, whenever an ethics complaint comes in via the ethics hotline or through email, a committee consisting of three people--the village attorney, the inspector general (who would report to the village attorney) and the Ethics Committee chair (an unpaid, appointed position) will review it first and decide if it has merit before sending it to be reviewed by the full ethics board, Gaudio said. 

At the July 23 village board meeting, a resident complained that the fact the inspector general reports to the village attorney means the inspector general would not have independence, according to the Niles Herald-Spectator. Trustee Rosemary Palicki objected to the fact the mayor can appoint the chair of the ethics committee under the new system, instead of letting the members elect their own chair, the paper said. 

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