Chamberlin: "I don't think ethics is the problem"

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) ranked Michigan's state ethics laws 43rd in a recent nationwide study. But John Chamberlin, professor of political science and public policy at the Ford School, did not sound too distressed in an interview with Bridge Magazine about Michigan's "F" grade.

"In some sense, it's the ethics environment of the Legislature — a combination of not having clear conflict of interest rules and expectations. And not having disclosure. And not having an independent ethics agency. Many states have those. …" Chamberlin said. "All that said, I don't think it's a hotbed of corruption."

CPI's State Integrity Investigation was designed to evaluate the risk of corruption based on the state's current ethics laws. No states received As, while nearly half received Ds and Fs.

Chamberlin added he thought Michigan was "better than average" when it came to its ethical culture, though he did say the Michigan Legislature deserved greater scrutiny.