ROCHELLE — In a press release March 12, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) announced it has publicly censured City of Rochelle Director of Community Engagement and Assistant to the City Manager Jennifer Thompson for an “ethics violation” stemming from her successful run for a Rochelle Elementary School District Board of Education seat in the past election cycle. 

The ICMA provides member support, publications, data & information, peer & results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to its membership population, which is largely made up of city managers. Thompson was a member since 2020 and during her school board run and took part in ICMA training in the past for her position with the city. ICMA membership is not a requirement of her job and she chose to be a member to expand her knowledge, she said. 

The ICMA’s code of ethics prohibits “work in service to a local government and holding elected office at the same time.” The only consequence of the public censure is Thompson’s standing with the ICMA. She could have remained a member, but has opted not to. 

“Ms. Thompson acknowledged her conduct violated the code and ultimately did not resign her elected school board position,” an ICMA press release said. “In her successful candidacy for elected office for a seat on the Rochelle Elementary School Board, she distributed campaign materials and received an endorsement of her candidacy. Ms. Thompson’s decision to seek and hold elected office while serving as a local government professional is political activity that undermines public confidence in the profession and the long-held standard of political neutrality.”

Thompson said she was not aware that the ICMA had an ethical tenet that prohibited running for office. Prior to her run for school board, Thompson and City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh confirmed with City Attorney Dominick Lanzito and Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock that there were no legal issues with her serving on the school board while also holding her position with the city, Thompson said. She also contacted the Illinois State Board of Elections and Illinois Attorney General's Office to confirm the legality of her run.

“During my campaign, I was intentional about honoring the non-partisan nature of the school board position,” Thompson said. “I hold myself to high ethical standards and have conducted myself in a manner that would make my family, and especially my daughters, proud, and will continue to act according to my values.  The support of my colleagues, friends, and family has been invaluable and I look forward to serving this community well into the future both as a City of Rochelle employee and on the Rochelle Elementary School Board.”

Thompson was elected to her school board position on April 4, 2023. On June 20, 2023 she received a phone call from the ICMA notifying her that in early March 2023, an anonymous complaint was made that she violated the organization's code of ethics by running for office. Thompson said she immediately offered to resign her ICMA membership, but the organization told her if she did, she wouldn’t be able to participate in its hearing on her discipline. She continued membership through the December hearing and resigned in early January to cure the conflict with their code. 

Following the December hearing, the ICMA board notified Thompson that she would be censured privately in exchange for her resignation from the school board. After consulting with the school district, the city council, Fiegenschuh and her family, she chose to honor her commitment to the school board, understanding that she would be publicly censured. 

“ICMA has repeatedly confirmed to me that they are not implying I have broken the law or done anything ‘wrong,’” Thompson said. “There are some positions that are considered incompatible offices, for example: a city manager cannot serve on a school board; a police officer cannot serve on the city council of the city they are employed by, etc. However my position is not one of those. ICMA is not saying my position is incompatible or that there is a conflict of interest – they are only saying that I violated their own code of ethics.”

Fiegenschuh voiced his support for Thompson and said he doesn’t believe her position with the city applies to the ICMA code of ethics in the same way that his does as city manager. 

“She didn't do anything wrong,” Fiegenschuh said. “The whole point with ICMA is to make sure people like myself aren't politically involved. We're supposed to be impartial. You want your city managers to not take a political or partisan position on any issue. And she is not a city manager. Every organization would be better served having employees like her. I stand behind her a thousand percent and I completely disagree with ICMA on this.”