Ethics Spotlight
Tom Gray – Ethics Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System
Tom has served the State of Illinois for 23 years at a variety of different agencies including Department of Energy and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Capital Development Board, and Office of the Attorney General. He is presently Ethics Officer and General Counsel at Teachers' Retirement System.
Tom's responsibility as Ethics Officer involves training and advising over 176 employees. Tom monitors compliance with the annual ethics training and the Teachers' Retirement Systems Employee standards of conduct policy and answers questions regarding both polices. Tom also has the duty of reviewing employee's Economic Interest Statements that are filed annually with Secretary of State Index Department annually.
The General Assembly created the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) in 1939. TRS administers a multiple-employer public pension plan and provides its members with retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.
Tom believes that the top three ethics issues in state government today concern ensuring procurement intergrity, maintaining commitment to ethics training and ensuring full ex parte communication discloure and reporting.
The two main questions Tom receives from employees involve what is an acceptable gift under the Ethics Act and what constitutes a reportable ex parte communication.
The Commission salutes Tom and the other agency Ethics Officers for their hard work and dedication to improving the ethical climate in the State of Illinois