Cook County Board of Ethics Meeting – October 14, 2026

Chair Seth Rao called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. with a quorum of three of the board's four members present. The board approved the agenda and the March 10 open meeting minutes, received the director's quarterly report and an outreach/training update, entered executive session, and returned for roll-call votes on two investigations and a vote on publishing closed minutes. No agenda or minutes for this meeting were included in the source materials; no public comments were offered. The meeting adjourned at 2:51 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda was approved unanimously by voice vote after a motion by the vice chair and a second by Member Siegel.
• The regular meeting open minutes from March 10 were approved unanimously with no corrections.

Discussion Items

• Director's report: The acting director reported that the board is halfway through the second quarter. Stats: four investigations open; seven requests for investigation denied as outside the scope of the ethics ordinance; nine advisories and staff opinions issued; 33 inquiries received, on par with the previous two quarters; 57 employees trained; four subcommittee on litigation advisories completed; and 85 contract compliance reviews conducted. In response to a board member's question, the director said no workload uptick related to the primary election had been observed, and the volume has been consistent with the last two quarters.
• Outreach and training update: The outreach and training coordinator reported that on March 13, an email reminder about the election prohibition period and the prohibited political activity guidance video was sent to 20,000 Cook County employees and elected officials using GovDelivery, with just over 8,000 total opens and 35% unique opens. Planned work includes drafting guidance on campaign contributions to explain the campaign contribution audit process, drafting guidance on requesting staff advisory opinions, updating gift ban disclosure guidance to clarify when gifts must be reported regardless of dollar amount, exceptions, and the prohibition on cash-equivalent gifts, and posting new materials on the ethics website. A Q3 ethics lunch-and-learn is targeted for July 2026, with an FAQ format and confidential in-person advisory opinions available. The FY26 online annual ethics training will invite the Cook County Clerk's Office, the Cook County Treasurer's Office, and the State's Attorney's Office, as part of a goal to include all county agencies by FY2029.
• Training logistics discussion: Board members asked about hybrid options for the lunch-and-learn. The coordinator said in-person/hybrid is being considered, but an advisory opinion would require appearing in person. Board members also asked about confidential Zoom or Teams breakout rooms for advisory opinions; the coordinator said this had not yet been worked out and would be followed up on, and board members suggested Teams breakout rooms or separate in-person and Zoom sessions.
• Executive session: The board entered executive session at 2:48 p.m. and resumed in open session for the following votes and clarification.
• Closed meeting minutes publication: The board voted unanimously to publish the December 16, 2025 closed meeting minutes with redactions to protect the privacy of individuals involved.
• Investigation requests 2026-I005 and 2026-I006: The board held separate roll-call votes and unanimously approved opening investigations in both matters.
• Closed meeting minutes deferred: No motion was made to approve the March 10, 2026 regular meeting closed minutes because a section needs to be added; the item will come back for approval at the next meeting.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda and March 10 open meeting minutes approved unanimously.
• December 16, 2025 closed meeting minutes approved for publication with redactions.
• Investigations 2026-I005 and 2026-I006 opened by unanimous roll-call votes (3-0).
• March 10, 2026 closed meeting minutes deferred pending addition of a section.
• Meeting adjourned at 2:51 p.m. after a unanimous motion.