Orland Park Designates Ethics Officer As Auditing Official

Orland Park IL

06 August, 2021

3:53 PM

Description

By Jon DePaolis, Richard Free Press: ORLAND PARK, Ill. — The Village of Orland Park unanimously approved an ordinance Monday, Aug. 2, amending its Village Code to designate its ethics officer as an auditing official to comply with the new Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity Today Act. The SAFE-T Act requires local governments to appoint the official to handle any whistle-blower claims, a role that is currently being performed by the Village's ethics officer. "I was struck in reviewing this new title that this is one of those occasions again where Orland Park is ahead of the curve," Trustee Sean Kampas said during the discussion. "About two years ago, we went through the process of an ad hoc ethics committee wherein we established an ethics officer and an ethics commission. "At the risk of sounding immodest, I think that Trustee [William] Healy and I did a fairly good job with our other committee members in putting together a pretty comprehensive ordinance. So, while I hope that we never have a need for such a position or that it is zero or minimal, the need for it is certainly there. "It seems that the State of Illinois has finally caught up to that." Mayor Keith Pekau agreed. "It's great that the state pushes ethics things down to the municipal level, [but] I'd like to see them do that for themselves," he added. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.