The Chicago Board of Ethics determined all of the violations of the city’s Ethics Ordinance were minor in nature, which will mean the candidates will be admonished in condfidential letters from the board but not fined.
Twelve members of the Chicago City Council are not seeking reelection, which will mean nearly a quarter of the city will get new local political leadership in 2023.
The nine enforcement actions – an unprecedented number for the board to take at a single meeting – were approved at a special meeting of the Chicago Board of Ethics approximately two weeks after Chair William Conlon sent a warning to all candidates: Do not use images of uniformed Chicago police officers, firefighters or city personnel in campaign advertisements.
For the City Council, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board endorses Howard Ray (37th), Ed Bannon (38th), Samantha Nugent (39th), Andre Vasquez (40th), Paul Struebing (41st) and Brian Comer (43rd).
The unsigned advisory opinion, issued Monday by the Chicago Board of Ethics, was prompted by a spate of campaign ads showing uniformed Chicago police officers and several complaints, officials said.