Ald. Jim Gardiner cleared of ethics charge, $20K fine; ethics board chair stepping down – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s office concluded roughly two years ago that Gardiner violated the city’s ethics code, alleging he conspired with ward staffers that later worked at the Department of Streets and Sanitation to write bogus citations against Pete Czosnyka for overgrown weeds and rodents at his home on the Northwest Side. Previously, Czosnyka and others won a $157,500 settlement after claiming Gardiner unfairly blocked critics from his official Facebook page, which was paid in part by the alderman and partly with taxpayer dollars.