I opened my mail the other day and found a yellow form entitled Statement of Economic Interests, to be filed with the Bureau County Clerk. As a member of the City of Princeton’s public arts commission I was required to list any gifts or honoraria with a value of more than $500 that I received during the previous year.
The form also reminded me that failure to complete the statement in good faith could subject me to fines, imprisonment or both.
Thousands of Illinois citizens in government positions are required to report anything worth more than $500. Some of them are annoyed by that request. I think it’s important.
Now, don’t you think that members of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the United States, should be held to ethical standards at least as rigorous as those that apply to us in city and county government? Especially if the gifts they have received are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? And those gifts came from people who might well have an interest in the justices’ decisions?
I am not confused about what we should expect of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He should resign because of his ethical sleaze. He and Justice Gorsuch should be embarrassed by both the appearance and the reality of the gifts they did not report. Period.
I’m Rick Brooks, and that’s my perspective.
