If you read the newspapers and blogs, the big issues in the
Chicago Chick-fil-A controversy are free speech and government
boycotts. But it's really a government ethics issue.<br>
<br>
All rational voices acknowledge that a local legislator should not
block a store opening just because it has given large sums to help
an unpopular political cause. What they aren't saying is that a
local legislator shouldn't be able to block a store opening in his

<b>Update:</b> July 27, 2012 (see below)<br>
According to <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120725_Law_firm_loses_…; target="”_blank”">an

Talk about independent expenditures usually refers to such
expenditures in support, or more often in opposition to, federal
candidates. At the local level, the major independent expenditures
tend to come from unions, both public service unions and
construction unions. There are also cases where independent
expenditures come from contractors and others seeking direct benefits from
the candidates they support or oppose. This can look very much like
a payoff for favors done and/or for future favors, generally referred to as pay to play.<br>

One of the things that really ticks citizens off is when a local
official uses his position to try to get out of a traffic ticket.
The financial benefit may be minor, but there are two
things that are major. One is that this conduct suggests that
favoritism is common in the government. That is, the expectation and provision of special treatment is an indication of
institutional corruption.<br>
<br>
The second thing that can be major is the benefit when the charge is

<b>Gift Bans</b><br>
<a href="http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/19508857/article-Lobby-Hobby---Wha…-?instance=lead_story_left_column" target="”_blank”">In
Sunday's Marietta (GA) <i>Daily Journal</i></a>, former state
representative Roger Hines wrote a column with the title "What Does

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/dealing-potential-conflicts-involved-…; target="”_blank”">I've
written recently about</a> the propriety of the new chair of D.C.'s ethics
commission practicing in matters that involve the city government.
In that case, there was an appearance, based on the chair's own
website, that he was seeking benefits for his clients from the council and certain

According to <a href="http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/fbi-raids-homes-of-nj-mayor…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Times of Trenton</i> yesterday</a>, the FBI raided the
homes of Trenton's mayor, as well as the homes of his brother and a
major campaign contributor.<br>
<br>

It's amazing how much local government ethics activity there is in
this July. Here is a miscellany of issues that have arisen
in just the last few days.<br>
<br>

<br><b>Moral Capital</b><br>
In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The Righteous Mind</a></i>: <i>Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and
Religion</i> (Pantheon, 2012), Jonathan Haidt discusses what he calls "moral capital," that is, "the

It is common for councils to engage in backsliding shortly after
creating or improving a government ethics program. When there has been a
scandal, councils often go further than they would like to go in
establishing ethics rules and procedures. When attention to ethics
matters has lessened, it often seems to be a good time to make the
program more what council members would like, and this almost always
means two things:  (1) making it easier for them to accept
gifts and (2) making it harder for citizens to file ethics