Skokie government ethics complaint advances, a second is struck down

The Skokie Ethics Commission will hold a hearing for an ethics complaint alleging that a village attorney campaigned for elected officials on paid time as a village employee.

The complaint comes from Skokie Trustee James Johnson, the only village board member not affiliated with the Skokie Caucus Party, which has dominated village politics for the last 50 years.

Johnson alleged that Jim McCarthy, who is listed as the chair of the Skokie Caucus Party on the Illinois State Board of Elections website, had been doing political work in his capacity as a village employee to work against a trio of referendums voters approved last fall.

“Assistant corporation counsel McCarthy was repeatedly seen during office hours canvassing for the mayor and Skokie Caucus Party’s anti-referendum campaign last fall,” he said. “I believe he clearly violated some of the prohibited political activities provisions of our ethics code.”

Attorney Michael Dorf attended the commission hearing to argue on McCarthy’s behalf that Johnson’s complaint was not covered under the ethics ordinance.

He argued that Johnson’s complaint did not meet the standards for an ethics hearing because McCarthy qualifies as a village officer under the municipal code.

Just because the ethics commission is proceeding to a hearing does not mean that it has found the complaint to be valid, commission attorney James Ferolo reminded attending members of the public. The May 3 decision to hold a hearing only affirms that Johnson’s complaint deals with elements of village ethics law, Ferolo said.

The commission dismissed a second complaint of Johnson’s, which alleged that McCarthy and Skokie corporation counsel Michael Lorge had tried to push Johnson out of the race for village trustee in December 2020 by offering to help him get appointed to a village commission.

This was the second hearing for Johnson’s complaint after the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor ruled that the first hearing had violated the Open Meetings Act.

“Michael Lorge personally offered me a village commission appointment in exchange for a political favor,” Johnson said. “This was corporation counsel Michael Lorge, offering me a village commission appointment.”

Johnson also asked the members of the Skokie Ethics Commission to disclose their personal relationships to Lorge, alleging that at least one member of the commission was a close personal friend of Lorge.

“If you have a personal association with any individual involved in these ethics complaints… I would like to ask all three of you to please disclose any personal associations that you may have with Michael Lorge or Jim McCarthy,” he said.

“That’s not appropriate at this time,” Commission Chair Jonathan Minkus said.

This statement touched off a tense exchange between commissioners and citizens who wished to make their public comments and argued that the meeting format allowed them to make comments after each agenda item.

Citizen Robert Kusel read to the commission from section 2-450 of the village code for boards and commissions, which states:

“Any conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the appropriate chair and the corporation counsel. No member of any board or commission shall participate in discussions or vote on issues or cases from any individual with whom they have a business or personal relationship.”

Minkus later did not tell Pioneer Press if he had a personal friendship with Lorge.

“Each one of us here will treat all the issues in a completely impartial manner,” he said.

Of the other two Ethics Commission members, Rabbi Leonard Matanky did not answer the question. The Rev. Richard Langford said he did not know Lorge.

A hearing on Johnson’s complaint about McCarthy is set for June 7.