<a href="http://www.globalethics.org/">Global Ethics</a>, an
organization run by Rushworth Kidder, author of <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/259"><span>Moral Courage</span></a> and other books,

Blago watchers will be interested in the news in <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-monk-guilty-plea-21-oct21,0,8750…
Chicago <i>Tribune</i></a> about his former chief of staff and campaign
manager pleading guilty and providing detailed testimony about the
schemes of Blagojevich and three of his friends to make money off
Blago's position, "such as through operating businesses that would get

<br>
<b>Update:</b> November 16, 2009 (see below)<br>
<br>
On Sunday, the Lexington <i>Herald-Leader</i> took an <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/981948-p2.html">unflattering
look</a> at Kentucky's legislative ethics commission. As in New York
State, a
central problem appears to be the commission's lack of independence.<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/opinion/20brooks.html">David
Brooks' column</a> in the New York <i>Times</i> today is about two views of
character, the philosophers' and psychologists' views. He too simply portrays
the philosophers' view as involving ingrained character traits, which is sadly
how most people seem to view character. I would call this the
mythological view of character.<br>

<b>“Unless
you out-and-out stick it in your pocket and walk away, everything’s
legal.”</b><br>
--Spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections<br>
<br>

<b>Update</b>: October 21, 2009 (see below)<br>
Two interesting issues come out of a long, detailed <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/772/story/1513951.html">Kansas City
<i>Star</i>
article</a> yesterday about Missouri political consultant, and recent
house speaker,
Ron Jetton.<br>
<br>

One problem in government ethics is that when conflict situations are
dealt with responsibly, there is rarely a record of them. They pass
quietly, failing to end up in the newspaper, at an ethics commission,
or in court. So generally we're stuck learning from the times when
conflict situations are dealt with irresponsibly. One of these situations, in Wausau, Wisconsin, made it to court, and a decision this
week by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

<b>Online Training List Updated May 24, 2013</b><br>
<br>
More and more government ethics information and training materials are
available online, so that they can be easily accessed at any time.
Everything from FAQs to information sheets to plain-English guides to
quizzes to videos.<br>
<br>
These materials are not only useful to the local government employees
and officials they are intended for. They are also useful to those in
other local governments who have to draft such materials and create

In your county, a major corruption investigation is being conducted by
the FBI. Already, nearly twenty county employees, city building
inspectors, and businessmen have pleaded guilty (see an earlier <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/763"><b>blog post</b></a> on the
investigation). Others are holding out. What do you do?<br>
<br>
The usual answer is to create an effective ethics program. In Cuyahoga

<br>
<b>Update</b>: February 2, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
A recent New York <i>Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/nyregion/13conflict.html"&gt;
article</a> concerns a potential conflict in the city council speaker's
office. But what is most interesting about the article is the bigger
question it raises