Education about the requirements of the City's ethics laws is a critical task.  The Board provides educational services and publications for city employees, officials, lobbyists, contractors and the public in an effort to increase their awareness and compliance.

The Board provides:

• Training, both on-line and seminars;
• Classes and workshops;
• Ethics presentations;
• Informational brochure guides;
• Policy memoranda;
• Needed assistance to employees, officials and members of the general public; and,
• Speakers and panelists at meetings or forums.

Additionally, the Board informally educates by providing responses to thousands of employees, officials and others on complying with the City's ethics requirements.

The Governmental Ethics Ordinance mandates that City employees and officials complete regular ethics training. There are three types of required training offered by the Board to enable City personnel to fulfill these requirements.

1. Annual Mandatory Ethics Training: The Governmental Ethics Ordinance  requires all City officials and employees to complete, each year, an ethics training program designed by the Board. City employees are scheduled to complete this training by their department’s ethics training administrator. NOTE: as provided in the Ordinance completion of the annual ethics training course does not fulfill the requirement to attend a quadrennial ethics training seminar, described below.
How to access Chicago eLearning to take the Ethics Training for City employees and officials.

2. Mandatory Quadrennial Ethics Training: The Ordinance was amended to require all aldermen, aldermanic staff, City Council Committee staff and senior executive service employees of the City to attend a face-to-face ethics training seminar every four years. About 10% of the City’s workforce is subject to this requirement. Upon entering City service in a position requiring attendance at ethics training, an employee or official has 120 days to attend, and then must attend again every four years. The Ordinance also mandates that the Board design and conduct training that will allow persons to satisfy this requirement. Persons subject to this requirement are notified in writing of their scheduled class date and deadline by the Board. For a schedule of upcoming classes, see the related links.

3. Annual Mandatory Lobbyist Ethics Training:  All registered lobbyists are required to complete an annual ethics training program designed and administered by the Board.  Please see the link below to view or complete this training.  It is designed for registered lobbyists, but anyone may view it.

4.  The Board can provide your business or community or Church group with a guest speaker, to advise you about our work and address your questions or concerns.  To schedule a guest speaker, please contact our Executive Director at steve.berlin@cityofchicago.org

To learn more about any Board of Ethics courses or other classes in the community, to receive brochures or other publications, or to ask questions about any aspect of the ordinances, please call the Board of Ethics at 312.744.9660.