Niles Village Board Set To Vote On Ethics Code
CHICAGO (WBBM) - The Niles village board is expected to vote tonight on a long-awaited ethics code, possibly one of the state's toughest.
WBBM's Mary Frances Bragiel reports the move comes after the conviction of the suburb's longtime mayor on charges that he took kickbacks.
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The proposed set of ethics has been in the works for nearly two years. The point, according to officials is to create accountability, transparency and openness when it comes to village employees, as well as elected and appointed officials.
The chairman of the ethics board calls the proposal "thorough" but says if the village board is not comfortable voting on it tonight, they can consider waiting until next month.
Nicholas Blase was mayor of Niles for 50 years before resigning, and pleading guilty to mail and tax fraud. He was charged with accepting over $400,000 in kickbacks in exchange for ensuring that an insurance company got business with the village and other businesses in the community.
He was released from prison last month, and is now completing his sentence in a halfway house.
