Observors: Van Til's indictment adds to region's political corruption stain

CROWN POINT | Prominent Lake County Democrat George Van Til's indictment Friday on felony fraud charges has local politicos wondering just how many more black eyes the party will take in the federal government's ongoing corruption probe.

U.S. attorney plans Friday announcement in public corruption probe

HAMMOND | A news conference scheduled for Friday will announce "several matters" relating to public corruption, the Hammond-based U.S. attorney reported Thursday.

EDITORIAL: Speak up, train to fight unethical behavior

Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and others offered valuable insight Friday at the annual Ethics in Government breakfast meeting: If you don't report corruption, you're an enabler.

Feds: Concrete work was foundation for East Chicago corruption

EAST CHICAGO | The corrupting mix of concrete and bribery continued to pave East Chicago's political landscape beyond the infamous sidewalks-for-votes scandal of the previous decade, recent federal court filings show.

MARK KIESLING: Pols won't learn honesty until we do

Imagine my shock when I came back to work after taking some time off for personal business and found five public officials had been indicted.

Government: Inefficiency, corruption plague NWI government

Sparse evidence of government reform, inefficient use of dwindling resources and a pall of public corruption continue to inhibit Northwest Indiana local government in 2012, according to a new regional report.

EDITORIAL: Shore up public's trust in local government

So many public corruption indictments have been handed down against public officials in Lake County over the years that voters run the danger of expecting local government officials to be corrupt. That should prompt action by good, decent, honest officials to shore up the public's trust.

EDITORIAL: Philpot provides incentive for ethics training

Yet another politician has been removed from office because of public corruption. Former Lake County Clerk Thomas Philpot was convicted on five counts of theft and fraud charges.

Rotary briefed on political corruption investigations

CROWN POINT | The Crown Point Rotary on Wednesday got an election year talk about political corruption by a member of the team that helps root it out.

Recent editorials from Indiana newspapers

Early prison release raises red flag

Ethics expert touts need for involvement

VALPARAISO | Being unethical doesn't always mean a person is doing something illegal, Carla Miller told a group of about 80 who attended Wednesday's luncheon presentation on ethics at Valparaiso University.

Blagojevich begins bleak countdown to prison

CHICAGO | Rod Blagojevich starts his Thursday facing a bleak countdown — 71 days before the twice-elected Illinois governor must say goodbye to his family and begin serving a 14-year sentence for corruption.

Any defiance could hurt Blagojevich at sentencing

CHICAGO | As Rod Blagojevich steps before a sentencing judge, the impeached Illinois governor might do well to suppress the cocksure, perpetual campaigner in him and conjure up a lesser-known figure: The humble, contrite family man.

Government: Blagojevich should get 15 to 20 years

CHICAGO | Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich deserves a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for his convictions on corruption charges, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Ex-Blago fundraiser sentenced to 10-plus years in prison

CHICAGO | A former top fundraiser for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose trial exposed Illinois' pay-to-play political culture, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 1/2 years in prison. He will get credit for time already served.

ANDREA NEAL: Indiana election fraud: Is corruption contagious?

In St. Joseph County, the prosecutor is investigating claims that hundreds of signatures were forged on petitions to qualify Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the state presidential primary ballot in 2008.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Use your votes to send message on ethics reform

It is time to begin asking our local politicians and candidates the tough questions. Lake County's reputation for political corruption is reinforced by having more than 50 public officials sent to prison since 2000. What have the candidates done about it? What is their position on ethics?

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Exorcise Lake County's ghosts of public corruption

October is here again. The air is cooler, the leaves are starting to turn, and my beloved Bears are giving me heart palpitations. Of course, October is also Halloween season, and for me (and apparently for many other middle-aged adolescents) that is a fun, spooky time -- a time to break out …

Professor's law schools E.C. on why corruption doesn't pay

East Chicago has been an icon of public corruption because it has too many residents in desperate need of city services and too few political parties in charge, a Notre Dame professor all too familiar with the Twin Cities recently observed.

EDITORIAL: Crime insurance for East Chicago

East Chicago finally is considering a blanket bond policy to provide coverage against theft of city funds by city employees. It's a sad but necessary development.