Skokie Trustee James Johnson, who is running for village clerk and in the midst of an ethics violation investigation, won’t receive a conclusive hearing before the April 1 election on whether or not Johnson used the village’s resources for political gain.
An amendment to an ethics complaint targeting Johnson was submitted to the village’s ethics commission on Monday, according to one of the eight Skokie residents who submitted the complaint in February. The amended complaint caused the investigation to start over, and caused an evidentiary hearing scheduled for last week to be canceled.
According to the village’s code, if an ethics complaint is filed within 60 days of an election against a person who is running for public office, the ethics commission shall decide if they were indeed acting unethically within seven days of he complaint being filed. If the complaint is filed within seven days of an election, the commission shall render such a decision before an election, if possible.
In an email shared with Pioneer Press from James Ferolo, the village’s outside legal counsel who advises the ethics commission, to Johnson and two of the complainants, Ferolo highlighted the “if possible” wording of the village code.
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“Due to the timing of the filing of this motion, scheduling issues, and time needed for the Commission and counsel to fully review the amended complaint received on 3/17 prior to rendering a decision on sufficiency and probable cause, the Commission is not in a position to conduct a legal sufficiency/probable cause hearing prior to the April 1st election,” Ferolo wrote.
Elline Eliasoff, one of the complainants, told Pioneer Press she submitted the amended complaint to the ethics commission on Monday of last week.
Eliasoff said the amendments to the complaint were added to comply with the statute of limitations, which she said she was unaware of when the original complaint was submitted in February.
“I didn’t realize there was a statue of limitations on unethical behavior, but apparently there is. It’s a year,” she said.
Eliasoff she became aware of the statute at the ethics hearing on March 5, and asked the commissioners if she could amend her complaint.
“I’m not an attorney, so it took me a long time, but I reviewed all the tapes, reviewed everything that happened, and focused on the last 12 months,” Eliasoff said. “Because I amended the complaint, it started the process over which is why the hearing was delayed.”
The amended complaint accuses Johnson of speaking during the public comment period for political gain.
Eliasoff said she had worked on the ethics complaint between nine and 10 months before it was submitted to the ethics commission. Eliasoff, the chair and treasurer for Trustee Alison Pure Slovin’s bid for re-election, was asked if the timing of the submission was to sway the upcoming election, as previously suggested by Johnson.
“Do I want to see him elected? No,” Eliasoff said posing and answering her own question.
“Did I want this information out before the reelection? One hundred percent,” Eliasoff said.
Johnson, who uses they/them pronouns, published a statement on their Facebook page after the Wednesday hearing was canceled. They called the ethics complaint “frivolous,” and added that the ethics commission’s refusal to further discuss the complaint before election day “has allowed my opponents to keep saying I am ‘under investigation’ for ethics violations…”
“This situation represents a major violation of the Illinois Code of Fair Campaign Practices, but also a major breakdown in our municipal ethics procedures,” Johnson said.
“Keep in mind, I am the only member of the Skokie Village Board who has advocated for ethics reform, opposed political hiring and patronage appointments, refused to accept campaign donations from developers, etc. I take my ethical responsibilities very seriously, both as a representative and a candidate.”
The commission will further discuss the ethics complaint on April 2.