The DuPage Election Commission approved a new ethics ordinance 2-1 Dec. 18, but dissenters say it is not comprehensive and fair, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article.
The main change to the ordinance involved the establishment of an Ethics "Commission for the Commission," which would be composed of a private citizen, a retired judge and an attorney licensed in Illinois.
Among those expressing problems with the ordinance was Green Party state representative candidate Bob Mueller, who said that the fact that same-sex partners were omitted from the list of definitions constituted "apartheid."
In an e-mail to several media outlets, including Windy City Times, Mueller added, "I have pointed out that without defining same-sex partners as exempted relationships in section 3.b.6, the ordinance violates Illinois' non-discrimination act.
"That act forbids discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation. Examining gifts between same-sex partners under the label of "friendships" ( Section 3.b.7 rather than 3.b.6 ) puts LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered ) employees under a different burden of proof. That is what makes this law apartheid in nature.
"DuPage had a chance to be a leader. It failed to address discrimination, and it failed to establish a non-partisan ethics commission."