Cronyism in Lisle

Lisle Watchdog is working on a story about Cronyism in Lisle. Cronyism is one of Lisle Watchdog's petpeeves.

As a primer for the upcoming story, let's review "Cronyism"

Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. (wikipedia)

Cronyism exists when the appointer (i.e. - da Mayor) and the beneficiary are in social contact; often, the appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority, and for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her, or express views contrary to those of the appointer.  

Governments are particularly susceptible to accusations of cronyism, as they spend public money. Many democratic governments are encouraged to practice administrative transparency in accounting and contracting and appointments.

The practice of favoritism based on relationships and connections - rather than someone selected from a large open pool of candidates as a person who demonstrates top credentials and well-suited experience – ultimately results in vastly inferior government service to the public.

Cronyism exists in organizations, often termed "the old boys club" or "the golden circle";  the boundary between cronyism and "networking" can be difficult to delineate. 

In private organizations, cronyism describes relationships existing among mutual acquaintances where business, business information, and social interaction are exchanged among influential personnel. This is termed crony capitalism, and is an ethical breach of the principles of the market economy; in advanced economies, crony capitalism is a breach of market regulations, e.g., the Enron fraud is an extreme example of crony capitalism.

Given crony capitalism's nature, these dishonest business practices are frequently (yet not exclusively) found in societies with ineffective legal systems.

Consequently, there is an impetus upon the legislative branch of a government to ensure enforcement of the legal code capable of addressing and redressing manipulation of the economy by the involved businessmen and their government cronies.

The economic and social costs of cronyism are paid by society. Those costs are in the form of reduced business opportunity for the majority of the population, reduced competition in the market place, inflated consumer goods prices, decreased economic performance, inefficient business investment cycles, reduced motivation in affected organizations, and the diminution of economically productive activity. A practical cost of cronyism manifests in the poor workmanship of public and private community projects.

Cronyism is self-perpetuating; cronyism then begets a culture of cronyism. This can only be apprehended by a comprehensive, effective, and enforced legal code, with empowered government agencies which can effect prosecutions in the courts.

All appointments that are suspected of being cronyism are controversial. The appointed party may choose to either suppress, disquiet or ignore it, or "spin" it, depending upon the society's level of freedom of expression and individual personal liberty.

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While LisleWatchdog works on the next blog post, keep your eye on the Village of Lisle website.

Will Broda post a notice on the webiste, on Facebook or Twitter seeking letters of interest for appointment to a board or commission or will there be more crony appointments?  New appointments to boards and commissions are typically approved in April, effective May 1.  

In addition to usual board and commission appointments, there is also a possibility that there will be a seat on the Village Board vacated in April depending on the outcome of the election next month. In a recent referndum, Lisle residents overwhelming opposed elected officials holding more than one elected office at a time

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