A member of the village’s Police Pension Board violated the village’s ethics ordinance by failing to file a form stating he has no conflicts of interest, members of the village’s Ethics Board have decided.
During a 10-minute closed session on Tuesday night, the Ethics Board, composed of five members appointed by the Village Board, decided that Ken Griffin, a retired police officer, violated the ordinance by failing to file an ethics disclosure statement in 1994 and 1995.
Griffin cannot be dismissed from his appointed position on the pension board, and the village is not alleging that he has any conflicts of interest.
“The issue is strictly compliance under the ordinance,” said Ethics Board Chairman Jim Condill.
The ethics ordinance was adopted by the Village Board in 1993. It requires all elected and appointed officials in the village to file a statement yearly declaring that they have no conflicts of interest in serving in their positions.
Attorney Richard Puchalski, representing Griffin and the pension board, said that the Village Board does not have authority to regulate conduct of pension board members, who are appointed by the village president.
A Cook County judge ruled two weeks ago that Tuesday’s hearing is proper. Griffin is appealing the decision.
Timothy Dwyer, a Wheaton attorney who represented the village at the hearing, said the Village Board could punish Griffin’s violation of the ethics ordinance by imposing a small fine.
This year, 47 people in elected and appointed positions are required to file such forms; since April, when the forms were distributed, 30 have been returned.
