421 N. COUNTY FARM ROAD

WHEATON, IL 60187

DU PAGE COUNTY

Ethics Commission

Summary

www.dupagecounty.gov

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

1. CALL TO ORDER

10:00 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Demling 10:27 AM.

10:00 AM

County Board Room

1.A. MOTION TO ALLOW REMOTE PARTICIPATION

ROLL CALL

PRESENT

PUBLIC COMMENT

Benson, Clemen, Cahalan, Demling, and Donner

No public comments were offered.

CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR DEMLING

Chair Demling stated that this is the first meeting of the year. He went on to say that one of the

reasons for the delay was updates being made to the Ethics training.

MINUTES APPROVAL

5.A.

24-1750

DuPage County Ethics Commission Minutes - Regular Meeting - Wednesday October 11,

2023

DuPage County Ethics Commission Minutes_10-11-2023.pdf

Attachments:

APPROVED

Ted Donner

RESULT:

MOVER:

Suzanne Cahalan

SECONDER:

OLD BUSINESS

6.A. FY24 Ethics Training Update

Jason Blumenthal, Policy and Program Manager, stated that the first meeting of the year was

delayed due to the new format of how we do the Ethics Training. He also stated that the IT

Department realized that there was an opportunity to get a new software that made the training

easier to conduct for our employees as well as our outside agencies. He went on to say that the

training officially launched on April 1, 2024. There were a few hiccups with our outside

agencies due to them not having the same authentication as the County, but we have worked

through that. Mr. Blumenthal stated that the launch of the new software appears to be going

positively. Employees have until the end of this week to complete the training. He also stated

that this deadline has been put into multiple forms of communication including direct emails to

employees. It was included in the employee newsletter, as well as Senior Management is aware

and have communicated to their staff that they need to complete it.

Regarding completion of the Ethics Training, Mr. Blumenthal stated that currently there are

about 553 employees who have completed the training out of approximately 1,000. That is

51.16% compliance. There will be follow-up emails to ensure 100% compliance. With regard to

the outside agencies, he stated that it is hard to give a percentage of completion because he does

not have a master list of employees. He also stated that 247 individuals of the outside agencies

have taken the training. He went on to say that each authority will be contacted and informed of

who all has taken the training, and will be asked to please make sure that any employee who has

not taken the training does so.

Mr. Blumenthal stated that the new software allows us to do a little bit more than the previous

with the training. At the next meeting, historically, there is always a review of the training as a

whole. He also stated that there are opportunities to truly change the training in the way that has

been talked about at previous meetings including using more examples. He went on to say that

we will work closely with our Investigator General and the Ethics Adviser to include more

interactive questions.

NEW BUSINESS

Mr. Blumenthal informed the Commission that effective July 1, 2024, he will be the new

Assistant Director of Operations. As such, he will be stepping away from the Ethics

Commission. He also stated that our hire, Jeremy Custer, Senior Advisor, will be the new staffer

for the Ethics Commission. He went on to ensure the Commission that the transition will go

smoothly and he will still be there to assist and help in any way. Mr. Blumenthal stated that if

the Commission has questions, Mr. Custer will be the main contact moving forward.

Member Donner informed the Commission that he has a client who has a matter with the

Building & Zoning Department that he is going to be representing. He stated that he had

submitted a request to Mr. Blumenthal about it, and received an opinion from Daniel Hanlon, the

Ethics Adviser. He also stated that his only concern was to make sure that he did not do anything

that would raise a conflict. He went on to say that the point it comes down to is that if there were

anything that came up that involves Building & Zoning, while he is representing his client, he

would not be able to vote on it. Chair Demling responded that since he received an opinion from

the Ethics Adviser, everyone is comfortable with it, and there should not be any issues.

Regarding the Ethics Training compliance, Member Benson asked if 51% compliance is larger

than expected at this point since the roll out, or is that normal. Mr. Blumenthal responded that

about this time last year when we were about two months out, he believes it was at about 62% or

63%, so it is a little bit lower. He stated that he equates that to it being a brand new system and

people still figuring it out with a learning curb. Member Benson mentioned the new training

system with the ability to have new examples and increased communication about the training.

He then expressed concern about not making the training more complicated, but instead better.

Mr. Blumenthal suggested that when the training is reviewed this year, it should be done slide by

slide, and it can be displayed on the monitors so that everyone can give their input and ensure

that it is user friendly. Chair Demling asked if it was possible to receive a copy of the training so

that the Commission could review it ahead of time and have questions for staff. Mr. Blumenthal

responded that about two weeks out from the meeting, staff will send the training out to the