Latest news with #ChicagoOfficeofInspectorGeneral
Chicago Tribune
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Deborah Witzburg: Chicago's City Council must protect the inspector general from political influence
Chicago's City Council will soon consider a critical ordinance that would protect the effectiveness and independence of the Chicago Office of Inspector General. OIG is a nonpartisan watchdog for city taxpayers, charged with ensuring economy, effectiveness, efficiency and integrity in the operations of city government. As with all inspector general work, independence is the hallmark and the lifeblood of what we do. Our work must be protected from political influence or interference so that we can root out misconduct and mismanagement — in a city government with a prodigious history of both — without fear or favor. The ordinance would make important changes to the Municipal Code to bring Chicago into line with national standards and federal law on independent oversight. Specifically, the proposed changes would ensure that city attorneys cannot withhold relevant evidence from OIG investigations and would prohibit city attorneys from sitting in on confidential OIG investigative interviews. City Hall has improperly asserted attorney-client privilege to withhold evidence in numerous investigations during my tenure as inspector general. OIG needs full access to city records to conduct thorough investigations, and all city officials and employees are required by law to cooperate in OIG investigations, including by providing full access to those records. This is a long-resolved issue at the federal level; inspectors general for federal agencies (including, for example, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice) are entitled to access their agencies' records that would be protected by attorney-client privilege from disclosure to a third party. The Association of Inspectors General, the national standard-setting and certifying body for inspectors general, has issued a position paper stating that improperly blocking access to privileged records — just as the city is doing — impairs independent oversight and contravenes national standards. The pending ordinance would also clarify the Municipal Code to protect the confidentiality of OIG investigations, including to protect whistleblowers and witnesses from personal and political retaliation, by making clear that city lawyers may not sit in on confidential investigative interviews. When OIG interviews a person who is subject to an investigation, that person is entitled to have their lawyer in the room. The mayor, however, is not entitled to have his lawyer in the room. The presence of city attorneys in OIG investigative interviews would compromise confidentiality and chill candid testimony; I will not ask city employees to fulfill their duties to report misconduct and to cooperate with our investigations while being monitored by the mayor's lawyers. Here, too, national standards are clear: The national body has also issued a position paper stating that attorneys representing the overseen agency cannot properly be permitted to attend confidential investigative interviews. During my tenure as inspector general, the city's Law Department has repeatedly demanded to attend interviews in investigations, including ones into allegations of bribery, retaliation via the withholding of city services and retaliation against individuals who made protected reports to OIG, as well as an allegation that a now-former elected official violated ethics rules by soliciting political contributions from city employees. Because I will not permit City Hall to compromise the confidentiality and independence of OIG investigations, these demands have resulted in the cancellation of interviews and the near-certain loss of relevant evidence. The reforms proposed in this ordinance are critical measures, drawn directly from national best practices, to protect OIG's ability to carry out its mission without obstruction or interference from City Hall. This is an effort to bring Chicago out of the backwoods of government accountability and into line with widely accepted government oversight standards. There are many exceptional things about Chicago, but a lack of protections for oversight in a historically, theatrically corrupt government ought not be one of them. City Council members might be presented with two kinds of arguments against these reforms. The first might be one based in self-interest — an appeal to desires to weaken the oversight to which aldermen are themselves subject. I hope we can all be confident that the people who have raised their hands to serve on the City Council have done so in order to serve the interests of their constituents above their own. The second kind of anti-reform argument might be a full-throated defense of the way things have been done before. And about that, I will say this: All of us in city government ought to work every day to make good on the proposition that Chicagoans deserve better than what they have always gotten from their government. Chicagoans deserve a government that is less corrupt and more accountable, and less opaque and more efficient. We cannot continue to do things the same way and expect different outcomes — and the people in power in this city are not entitled to the status quo. I am deeply hopeful that Chicago is, at long last and long overdue, ready for reform.
Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Paul Vallas: We must not allow a repeat of 2020 George Floyd protests in Chicago
Events in Los Angeles have justifiably raised concerns about demonstrations spreading across the country, and Chicago must be prepared for the possibility of violent protests opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. To avoid repeating the mistakes of 2020, the city, county and state governments must take proactive steps to ensure the safety of residents and law enforcement. The city cannot afford a repeat of the George Floyd civil unrest of 2020. The lack of preparedness was well documented in the Chicago Office of Inspector General's February 2021 report. The OIG found that despite advance warning of large-scale protests following the Minneapolis police murder of Floyd, the Chicago Police Department was underequipped and unprepared to respond to the scale of the protests and unrest. Much of downtown, as well as many commercial strips and other areas of Chicago, haven't fully recovered from the participants who turned destructive in late May through early June 2020, or the second wave of unrest in August, which erupted after police shot a man in Englewood. The first wave of unrest cost downtown businesses over $66 million, with 2,100 buildings damaged and looted and 71 set on fire. Downtown cannot survive another such episode. There is additional cause for concern in Chicago due to the incendiary language used by some state and local political leaders. Mayor Brandon Johnson's racially divisive rhetoric has become a political calling card. Johnson's condemnation of recent ICE operations and his calls for protest amount to a political call to arms. Not to be outdone, Gov. JB Pritzker in February compared President Donald Trump's administration and its supporters to the Nazi regime and in an April speech in New Hampshire called for 'mass protests,' saying 'it's time to fight everywhere, and all at once.' Such language appeals to the worst instincts of the radicals among the Democrats. City, county and state governments should take the following steps to ensure the safety of residents and law enforcement. Most importantly, Johnson must support police Superintendent Larry Snelling's request for the authority to call a snap curfew in emergencies and direct city agencies to confiscate vehicles and other personal property from those who engage in disruptive behavior. Editorial: MAGA morphs into Make America Cruel AgainIn the longer term, the City Council would do well to reconsider enacting a city nuisance ordinance that would punish anyone rioting, looting, obstructing the public way, disrupting traffic, physically assaulting a police officer or even publicly calling for such behavior. Police would have the power to ticket, impound vehicles, confiscate personal property, revoke licenses and levy heavy fines. The city could also sue in cases of serious property or economic damage. It is true that there are always groups willing to take advantage of legitimate protests to incite violence and individuals ready to use the opportunity to loot and steal. This was clearly evident during the Floyd protests. The state and city should approach preparations for the worst with the same urgency they gave to protecting the Democratic National Convention — deploying extra officers, enforcing the law more strictly, issuing tickets and fines, and confiscating vehicles. This is about ensuring that the city and state are always prepared for the worst, so that no individual or group can exploit citizens' constitutional right to dissent. The state and city are well equipped to protect these rights and to keep any situation from escalating to the point in which even the governor would consider deploying the National Guard — something I, as a 13-year member, would strongly advise against. City and state leaders need to prepare now to address any crisis without resorting to the National Guard and to send a clear message that violating people's rights will have consequences. The ICE crackdown on people living in the country illegally will be just one of many issues that may lead to protests in the coming years. City and state leaders must be prepared.
CBS News
11-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Givenchy bag, signed sports memorabilia among items found inside mayor's gift room at City Hall
It's not uncommon for Chicago's mayor to receive gifts, but when the Chicago Office of Inspector General wanted access to the mayor's gift room to see the items, they were repeatedly denied. On Monday, the doors to the room were opened for CBS News Chicago. So, what was inside? Hundreds of items, some lavish, some ordinary. The big question remains: Who is giving these gifts, and are they getting anything back from City Hall in exchange? Despite the tour and revamped policies, most gifts continue to be received without a note on who gave them. Deep inside the little-used third floor of City Hall. "We have the shoes, the Kate Spade purse," said Lori Lipson, deputy mayor of infrastructure and services. The tour begins in an unremarkable room about the size of a one-car garage with low-hanging pipes. "Every mayor has had a gift room. It's just not been exciting until now," Lipson said. "It includes hats, t-shirts, there's some memorabilia you'll see from NASCAR, and awards. There are also pricier items that all appear unused, including a Givenchy bag, signed sports memorabilia, and a Montblanc pen. When asked if any of the items were used by the mayor, Lipson said "no." The Inspector General report revealed that 70% of gifts to Mayor Johnson failed to include who gave them—leading the mayor to call for better record keeping, including who gave the gift, when possible. After checking the now public report, the vast majority of items still lack details about who gave the gift, including a crystal necklace the week of Valentine's Day. Why is that still happening? "Most of the time, they're given at a parade or school; it's not a particular person. Sometimes, an organization gives something, and so we are trying to make sure we note that appropriately," Lipson said. "Where there anything of value being exchanged, we would absolutely want to know if these are coming from people looking for influence," said Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. When asked if she can understand why people are considered about the possible writ pro quo? "I understand the concern, and that's why we're making it available to the public," Lipson said. The city donates portions of what it has received every few months. In a few weeks, the gift closet will be open to the public to see what's inside. The mayor said he'd never been to the room when the Inspector General report first came out. Last week, it was mentioned during his heated questioning on Capitol Hill about Chicago being a sanctuary city.
