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Published April 4, 2004

Ethics in local government have overcome a serious issue in NWI

September 5, 2003 , Northwest Indiana took what was described at the time as the first step in a long journey. That day the Northwest Indiana Local Government Academy conducted a symposium focusing on ethics in local government. That's right, a discussion of ethics in local government -- no one laughed. In the words of Chuck Oberlie , Mayor of Michigan City, "ethics in local government was an idea whose time had come." At the meeting's conclusion, a commitment to a six month follow-up session was made.

Six months have come and gone. The follow-up session has taken place and the results from a purely quantitative standpoint are remarkable. Including Munster , which passed its original ethics ordinance August 4, 2003 ; four communities ( Munster , St. John , Hobart and Lake Station ) have adopted ethics ordinances. Four others ( Highland , Crown Point , LaPorte and Whiting) have passed "Sense of Council" resolutions expressing support for the overall ethics initiative and a commitment to fostering the establishment of a greater ethical public service culture.

When you include the fact that Hammond , Portage , Michigan City and Valparaiso made some form of commitment to ethical government ten or more years ago, the numbers appear quite impressive.

However, to get a real understanding of what is occurring in Northwest Indiana , look beyond the raw numbers. While impressive, they don't tell the whole story. The discussion of ethics has been elevated to a new level. Northwest Indiana has consciously avoided discussing ethics in a negative way. Historically, discussions on the subject invariably end up focusing on punishing bad conduct.

Northwest Indiana has chosen to focus debate on the affirmation of desirable conduct. We have embarked upon a proactive scheme of counsel and training as opposed to reactive admonishment and censure. By addressing ethics on the front end with training and by committing to ethics as an aspirational goal the actions of good people are reinforced and the need to focus on ethics in a punitive way is eliminated.

Without question a culture change is taking place here. A year ago it would have been almost impossible to engage in a serious discussion of ethics in local government. Today, it is difficult to pick up a paper without reading at least one story on ethics. We have come a long way. We still have a very long way to go. To paraphrase Highland Clerk-Treasurer, Michael Griffin, we've made the decision to change the political culture of our communities. Now we must realize that change won't be happening overnight.

I can't help but think of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. The professor has just handed out the new instruments to the youngsters of River City . The excited kids are in the gym trying to figure out how to play the instrument each has been given. They will learn. Eventually they will also learn how much better it is when the band plays in unison. Today there are lots of shrieks, clangs, screeches and just downright nasty sounds. But, some day, some day those kids will be making fabulous music. There is significant noise being made right now over the need for ethics ordinances. Somewhere down the road, Northwest Indiana is going to reap the benefits of the culture change currently taking place.

The bottom line to all this is that ethical behavior builds trust. A reputation for trust attracts like-minded persons and like-minded businesses. It becomes a kind of virtuous circle that is continually growing.