CARPENTERSVILLE – District 300 officials initially
dismissed a resident's complaint that school board
member Mary Warren might have violated the state ethics
law, according to correspondence between a school
official and the complainant.
Warren said she facilitated a survey last summer to
gauge residents' opinions on the viability of a
property-tax referendum. As a sitting school board
member, Warren is required to remain impartial in
political matters, meaning she cannot push a referendum.
School board members are reviewing whether those
actions violated the new state ethics law. A parent sent
a letter Sept. 7 asking the board to look into Warren's
actions. In a written response to the complainant,
Superintendent Ken Arndt at first said there was no
evidence of a violation. But days later, school board
President John Court said the board would investigate
the complaint.
Arndt said the woman's repeated requests for action
prompted the district to investigate the issue.
"That was my initial reaction," he said. "The
complainant wished to have it examined more thoroughly
by the school district."
The board might begin looking into the complaint
during a meeting today. Board attorney Darcy Kriha said
she will advise the board in executive session about how
to approach the complaint.
Kriha said the board planned to expedite
investigation into a possible ethics violation, one of
the first in Illinois against a school board member.
"There should be a decision made in the next 45
days," Kriha said.
Arndt said in a letter to the complainant Sept. 13
that he did not find sufficient proof of a ethics
breach.
Warren also sent the woman an e-mail telling her that
no violation occurred.
In Arndt's letter, he said a newspaper article was
one interpretation, and "the media usually slant a story
for publicity and do not fairly represent all
perspectives or positions."
Then 16 days after the woman wrote to school board
members and again contacted Arndt, Court said in a
letter that "the seriousness of your statements"
prompted the board to examine the matter. He also said
the board's ethics rules and investigation procedures
were in draft form.
Court would not say how the board will investigate
the complaint.
Warren said the board was forced to officially review
the complaint. She has denied wrongdoing.
"We have to go through the process of investigating a
complaint," she said. "We have to do it. That's part of
the law, too."
The board must announce in open session its decision
on whether there was an ethics violation and whether a
penalty should be imposed.
The state ethics law limits the gifts that government
and elected officials receive and prohibits their
involvement in certain political activities. All
government agencies were required to adopt an ethics
ordinance by June.
The board could have appointed a three-person Ethics
Commission to investigate the complaint. But the board
decided to review the complaint to expedite the process.
Either way, the final decision still would rest with the
board members.
