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Barrett, Hines Must Heed Pratt's Call To Clean City Hall
April 21st, 2004
It was refreshing to hear former Mayor Marvin Pratt use his position as an elder statesmen of city government this week to offer advice to new Mayor Tom Barrett and Common Council President Willie Hines.
We were even more gratified when the subject Pratt chose to advise them on was ethics in city government, something that sounds like an oxymoron, if not an outright joke.
Three aldermen have been sent to prison for financial misdeeds.
There are reports that the U.S. Attorney’s office is about to lower the boom on a recently defeated alderman whose identity has not yet been made public.
Pratt called on both city hall leaders to get tough—real tough—on corruption in city government.
The former mayor and council president said the council should make the new city code of ethics much tougher than what has been recommended by a task force—set up by Pratt—in its just released report.
Pratt went so far as to suggest that the requirements be as restrictive—if not more so—as state or county government prohibitions against gifts and favors from constituents, businesspersons and lobbyists.
We hope Barrett—who made "cleaning up city hall," one of the cornerstones of his election campaign—and Hines takes the advice offered by Pratt and enact strong and uncompromising measures to eliminate all corruption from city government.
For either man to be able to reclaim and keep the trust of the people of this city and for the council to enact legislation that will successfully tackle social ills like crime, they must first eliminate all vestiges of corruption and criminality from the corridors of city hall.
It should be the number one priority of Barrett, Hines and the council. Milwaukee deserves to have its reputation for clean government back, the sooner the better!
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