When we elect people to serve in government, we expect those individuals and the officials they appoint to look out for our best interests.

But some of those people instead use their positions in government to enrich themselves, family members, friends, business associates and political connections.

That’s why it’s vital that state lawmakers address the problem by requiring more stringent management of local ethics boards, more transparency and more enforcement. Right now, the ethics review system is disjointed, disorganized and in many places ineffective.

And it’s costing each and every one of us.

Through unethical conduct, public officials deprive legitimate businesses of........

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