Elmhurst-Area Agency Cannot Find Ethics Code: Lawyer

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst-area "paper" fire district, which is accused of an ethics violation, says it is unable to find its required ethics code.

The lawyer for Bensenville Fire District No. 1 responded to a Patch public records request by saying it is not in possession of an ethics ordinance.

In Illinois, a nearly 20-year-old law requires every public body to have such a code in place.

The district serves unincorporated residents between Elmhurst and Bensenville. It has no firefighters or station, but pays two other agencies each year to provide that service.

In an interview Wednesday, the district's attorney, Pat Bond, said he presumed the district created an ethics code shortly after the state Ethics Act passed.

Because the fire district has no building, Bond said, Addison Township has stored documents for the district over the years. But the township was unable to find the ethics ordinance, he said.

Bond said the district's board plans to approve a "restatement" of its ethics ordinance at its next meeting.

In January, resident Jim Brill filed a complaint with Addison Township that the district distributed a flyer last fall advertising a fundraiser for state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican. The flyer appears to include the township's stamp.

When the township's ethics committee met last month to hear the complaint, Bond presented a letter contending the township had no jurisdiction in the matter. He cited the Ethics Act.

In an opinion last week, the attorney for Addison Township agreed with Bond's position.

In Wednesday's interview, Bond said the district did not distribute the flyer in question. Last month, the district's board president, Paul Guerino, said the board never authorized the use of its stamp for such a purpose.

Bond said no taxpayer money was used to create or distribute the flyer.

"If someone is using the stamp without the board's authority, that's something the board needs to take up and have the appropriate investigation," he said.

Paul DeMichele, the fire district's controller, has not returned messages for comment. DeMichele, who is in charge of the district's paperwork, may have access to the stamp in question.

Brill has told Patch that he intends to submit his complaint with the fire district.

Bond said the district would create an ethics committee to investigate it, as required by law.