Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to assure, to the
maximum extent possible, that persons subject to this Code avoid situations,
relationships or associations that may lead to or represent an actual or
potential conflict of interest.
a)
Policy and Application
1) Definitions
For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
"Applicant": Any person that has submitted an application or
has publicly expressed an intent to submit an application for licensure under
the Illinois Gambling Act, Video Gaming Act, or Sports Wagering Act [230 ILCS
45].
"Covered Person": Any of the following:
Applicants;
Licensees;
Affiliates of an applicant or licensee;
Persons with significant influence or control of an applicant
or licensee as defined in 11 Ill. Adm. Code
1800.110;
Key Persons of an applicant or licensee; or
Representatives of persons or entities included in this
definition.
"Employee": Any person employed full-time, part-time, or
pursuant to a contract of any kind and whose employment duties are subject to
the direction and control of the Board with regard to the material details of
how the work is to be performed, including any State employees detailed or
assigned to the Board from other State entities, contract employees, and
independent contractors in the service of the Board.
"Licensee": Any person who holds a license issued pursuant to
the Illinois Gambling Act, Video Gaming Act, or Sports Wagering
Act.
2) Members and
employees of the Board are to discharge their duties and responsibilities with
undivided loyalty to the Board and in such a manner as to promote and preserve
public trust and confidence in the integrity of the conduct of gaming and in
the integrity and impartiality of the Board.
3) No Board member or employee shall use or
attempt to use his or her official position to secure, or attempt to secure,
any privilege, advantage, favor or influence for himself, herself or
others.
4) Members and employees of
the Board shall bear responsibility for adherence to the provisions of this
Code of Conduct.
5) Provisions of
this Code of Conduct applying to relatives or household members of an employee
or Board member apply regardless of the nature of the relationship, including,
but not limited to, relationships by blood, marriage, adoption or other
relationship.
6) When evaluating
the circumstances of a violation or potential violation of this Code of Conduct
by a relative or household member of a Board member or employee, the level of
influence held by the Board member or employee over that relative or household
member shall be considered.
b) Conflict of Interest
1) Board members and employees and their
respective spouses, domestic partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents,
children and household members shall have an affirmative duty to avoid
relationships that may cause or have the appearance of causing an actual or
potential conflict of interest.
2)
A "conflict of interest" means a situation in which a Board member's or a Board
employee's private interest, whether personal, financial or otherwise,
influences, or creates the appearance that it may influence, the Board member's
or employee's judgment in the performance of his or her regulatory duties and
responsibilities to act in a fair and impartial manner.
c) Gambling
1) Except as may be required in the conduct
of official duties, Board members and employees shall not engage in gambling
conducted under the Illinois Gambling Act, Video Gaming Act, Sports Wagering
Act, or Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975 [230 ILCS 5].
2) Board members and employees shall not
engage in any other legalized gambling identified by Board action that, in the
judgement of the Board, could represent a potential for, or the appearance of,
a conflict of interest.
d) Outside Employment
1) Board members and employees shall not hold
or pursue employment, office, position, business or occupation that may
conflict with the official duties of that Board member or employee.
2) Employees may engage in other gainful
employment that does not interfere or conflict with their duties, provided that
the employment is disclosed to the Administrator and the Board and approved by
the Board or, as delegated, by the Administrator.
3) Disclosure of outside employment must be
made at the time of appointment to the Board or at the time the employee is
hired to work for the Board or prior to accepting the outside
employment.
4) Any Board member who
discloses outside employment to the Board shall recuse himself or herself from
any discussion and decision made by the Board relative to his or her outside
employment.
5) Outside employment
that, despite recusal from Board action and discussion, presents recurring or
continuing possibilities for potential or actual conflicts of interest shall be
grounds for removal from the Board under Section 5(a)(6) of the Act.
6) No Board member shall hold any other
public office.
e)
Restrictions on Receiving Gifts
1) Board
members and employees and their spouses, domestic partners, boyfriends or
girlfriends, children, parents, and household members may not, directly or
indirectly, accept any gift, gratuity, service, compensation, travel, lodging,
or thing of value from a covered person, with the exception of unsolicited
items of an incidental nature.
2)
This prohibition may be extended by Board action to any person who, in the
judgment of the Board, could represent a potential for, or the appearance of, a
conflict of interest.
f)
Prohibition on Holding or Acquiring Ownership
1) Board members and employees of the Board,
their spouses, domestic partners, boyfriends or girlfriends, children, parents,
and household members may not, directly or indirectly, hold or acquire, or
cause or encourage any other person to acquire, any actual or contingent form
of ownership interest or other financial interest in a covered
person.
2) The prohibition in
subsection (f)(1) may extend to the holding or acquisition of an interest in
any entity identified by Board action that, in the judgment of the Board, could
represent the potential for, or the appearance of, a conflict of
interest.
3) The holding or
acquisition of an interest in these entities through an indirect means (e.g.,
through a mutual fund) shall not be prohibited, except that the Board may
identify specific investments or funds that, in its judgment, are so influenced
by gaming holdings as to represent the potential for, or the appearance of, a
conflict of interest.
4) Every
Board member, Board employee, and spouse or immediate family member living with
that person shall be subject to applicable provisions of Section 5-45 of the
State Officials and Employees Ethics Act [5 ILCS 430] (the "revolving door
prohibition") for a period of two years immediately after termination of Board
appointment or employment.
g) Prohibition of Economic Association
1) Notwithstanding subsections (d)(4) and
(5), Board members and employees of the Board and their spouses, domestic
partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, children, parents, and household members
shall not have an economic association with a covered person or any race track,
racing association, or any person engaged in the conducting of horse racing in
the State of Illinois.
2) An
"economic association" shall mean any current economic relationship, direct or
indirect, representing the potential for, or the appearance of, an actual or
potential conflict of interest that may exist between a Board member or Board
employee and a covered person.
3)
The prohibition of economic association provided by this subsection (g) may be
extended to any person identified by Board action that, in the judgment of the
Board, could represent the potential for, or the appearance of, a conflict of
interest.
4) This prohibition on
economic association may by waived by Board action for a spouse, domestic
partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, child, parent, or household member of an
employee of the Board.
h) Disclosure of Economic Association
1) Each Board member who owns or is employed
by a firm or business entity shall, to the best of his or her ability, identify
any economic association with any covered person.
2) Subject to the prohibition contained in
subsection (g)(1), the Board member shall declare his or her intention to
refrain from deliberations and voting on questions related to the gaming entity
or individual in that economic association. This requirement may be extended by
Board action to any person who, in the judgment of the Board, could represent
the potential for, or the appearance of, a conflict of interest.
3) Board members shall refrain from working
on any gaming-related matters on behalf of any person with whom the Board
member has an economic association.
i) Recusal Process
1) Board member duties of disclosure and
recusal are ongoing.
2) In advance
of each Board meeting, and before engaging in any deliberations or voting,
Board members must review lists provided by Board staff of all persons and
locations that will come before the Board, at the upcoming Board meeting, for
consideration for licensure, discipline or any other action. This review will
assist the members in determining whether recusal from a particular Board
deliberation or vote is required.
3) To the extent practicable, each Board
member who owns or is employed by a firm or entity shall employ a conflict
check process, subject to approval by the Administrator, to determine whether
any existing or new firm or entity client is, or has become, a covered person.
This process will assist the Board member in discharging his or her disclosure
and recusal duties.
j)
Restrictions on Professional Service Agents
1) Professional service agents of the Board
may be subject to terms and conditions relating to restrictions or prohibitions
in representation, employment and contracting with licensees, applicants, their
affiliates, persons with significant influence and control, Key Persons, and
their representatives. These restrictions and prohibitions shall be contained
in the professional service contracts of the Board.
2) For purposes of this subsection (j),
professional service agents of the Board include any person, corporation or
organization providing legal, accounting, financial, public relations,
auditing, architectural, data processing, or management consulting
services.
k) Disclosure
Statements. Board members and employees shall complete and timely file the
Statement of Economic Interest required by Article 4A of the Illinois
Governmental Ethics Act [5 ILCS 420], a copy of which shall be provided to the
Administrator.
l) Post-Board
Affiliation or Employment. Every Board member, Board employee, and their spouse
or immediate family members shall be subject to all applicable provisions of
Section 5-45 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act [5 ILCS 430] (the
"revolving door prohibition") for a period of one year after termination of
Board appointment or employment.
m)
Violations
1) Violation of this Code of
Conduct by a member of the Board may result in sanctions up to and including
removal from the Board.
2)
Violation of this Code of Conduct by an employee or agent of the Board may
result in discipline up to and including termination.
