How to say it simply

“When people say corruption they usually mean someone took money. That happens. What we are looking at here is different. It is the use of public power to move a large industrial project through the system under the wrong classification, without the hearing the code requires, and without a clear public record of what was actually approved. The developer gets speed and reduced scrutiny. The public loses the review the rules promised. That is corruption of the process even if no one put cash in a pocket.”

The test is not “Did someone get rich?” The test is “Was public power used in a way the rules do not allow, to produce a result the rules were written to prevent?” If the answer is yes, it is corruption — whether the currency is money, access, or the avoidance of a public hearing.