Ethical Dilemma Paper

Ethical Dilemma ShaRhonda Washington CJA/324 Karl Perman November 5, 2012

Ethical Dilemma Paper Ethical Dilemma I found an article published in the Chicago Sun-Times this morning that I found very dear to me. I have been a city employee for the Chicago Public Library for over 13 years. Every year the Chicago

Board of Ethics administers an online training that every city employee must take. The mission and responsibilities of the Board of Ethics which was established in 1987, administers and enforces Chicagos Governmental Ethics Ordinance. It establishes conflicts of interests standards for City employees, officials, lobbyists, contractors, and candidates for elected City office, campaign contributors, and others who interact with government personnel. When I read the title it immediately caught my eye that this was in fact an ethical dilemma. The title of the article read City libraryboard VP profits from library construction. An African American woman by the name of Cherryl T. Thomas sits on the Chicago Public Librarys board of directors as the vice president. Her role as vice president is to help decide when new libraries are needed and where they are built. Here is the twist, Thomas is president of Ardmore Associates LLC, a company that she founded after leaving a City Hall post she held in the late 1990s. Records show that Thomas is paid to help oversee construction of those new library buildings. The bottom line; Thomas helps oversee Chicagos library system while her company is making money off the construction of libraries.

Ethical Dilemma Paper The ethical dilemma is whether the intersection of Thomas government duties and business interests pose a conflict of interest.