Latest news with #DeborahWitzburg
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Puppies from flood-stricken Texas arrive at Chicago shelter
Good afternoon, Chicago. City Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, who has regularly butted heads with Mayor Brandon Johnson in recent months, will not seek appointment to a second term, her office announced last night. Witzburg had previously said she was pursuing another four-year term, teeing up a tough choice for Johnson, who would have had to make a decision on her future by late October. But she backed off the push late Thursday after successfully supporting ethics reforms aimed at City Hall's mayor-controlled top attorney earlier this week. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Nine puppies from parts of Texas submerged by catastrophic flooding that killed at least 132 people arrived Wednesday at the no-kill shelter PAWS Chicago, joining dozens of puppies that were already here. Read more here. More top news stories: The four stations — Argyle, Bryn Mawr, Lawrence and Berwyn — were renovated as part of a $2.1 billion Red and Purple line modernization project paid for by a combination of grants, federal money, transit tax increment financing dollars and CTA funds. Read more here. More top business stories: On the field, the Sox look to be in position to avoid repeating history following last year's record-setting 121-loss season. The Colorado Rockies (22-74) are on pace to shatter that mark. Read more here. More top sports stories: The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry recently unveiled a new interactive 'Beyond the Surface: The Art of X-rays' exhibit by photographer Andrei Duman, allowing museum guests to examine the interior of everyday objects. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: An explosion early today at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles that left three people dead was being investigated as a possible training accident, officials said. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg announces she will not seek another term
Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg announced she will not seek another term. The decision comes after Chicago's City Council approved new ethics reforms that would give the inspector general more latitude. The new ordinance would give them more access to certain records and limit when a city lawyer can attend investigative interviews. Witzburg was appointed inspector general in 2022 for a four-year term by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In a statement, she said she looks forward to passing along a more effective and independent office. Witzburg began working at the Office of Inspector General in 2016, and was named deputy inspector general for public safety -- the office's No. 2 position -- in 2019. Todd Feurer contributed to this report.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chicago law aimed at tracking gun offenders isn't being enforced, watchdog says
The Brief The City of Chicago's Inspector General said a law aimed at helping police track gun offenders isn't being enforced. The ordinance requires anyone convicted of a gun-related crime to register after they're released from custody or sentenced. CHICAGO - The City of Chicago's Inspector General's Office said a law meant to help police track gun offenders is not being enforced. What we know The agency released a new report that found the current gun offender registration ordinance is unreliable and incomplete. The ordinance requires anyone convicted of a gun-related charge to register five days after their release from custody or sentencing. What they're saying Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said the registry is not being used correctly. "The registry, as it exists right now, is incomplete, out of date. It doesn't include everyone it should. It includes some people who should have rolled off. It is not being updated regularly, it's not being used regularly by officers," she said. The other side The report does acknowledge that the police department has increased staffing in the registration department, but added that more needs to be done to get this right. In a response to the report, the Chicago Police Department said it's "undertaking a comprehensive review of all public-facing information about the registry to ensure that it is consistent and accurate across all platforms. Second, the CPD is reviewing and updating its directives and forms. Third, the CPD is leveraging technology to assist with implementing the Gun Offender Registry ordinance by implementing the Offenderwatch software system, which is already in use by other police departments around the country. Finally, as suggested in the Draft Report, the CPD is wiling to coordinate with the Mayor's Office and City Council to review the Gun Offender Registry Ordinance to evaluate the ways in which it can be strengthened to work better for both registrants and the CPD." You can read the full report here.
Chicago Tribune
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
David Greising: A better way to achieve ethics reform in Chicago
After city Inspector General Deborah Witzburg complained publicly last month about City Hall interference with her investigations, the city's top lawyer countered with a rebuke. Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry at a news conference said requirements for timely compliance with records requests would remove '30 years of guardrails' that protect city workers. City lawyers need to sit in on the IG's investigative interviews of city workers, Richardson-Lowry claimed, because an attorney-client relationship exists between the workers and the city's Law Department. Well, not so fast. The policy arm of my organization, the Better Government Association, issued a statement by our outside counsel, who found no legal merit in Richardson-Lowry's claims. And former Gov. Pat Quinn has drafted a petition to address the corporation counsel's conflict of interest — by making the corporation counsel an elected office and no longer a tool of Chicago's mayor. Quinn's petition, to put an advisory referendum on voters' ballots, seems well intended. But petitions too often are ineffective, performative and piecemeal tools of reform. There needs to be a better way. In fact, there is, and it's called a city charter. One might ask: A city what? But bear with me, dear reader, and you may see the wisdom in this wonkish but powerful idea. A city charter is, in essence, a constitutional document for a municipality. Chicago does not have one. Two key peer cities — New York and Los Angeles — do. Hundreds of other cities, too. Charters are hardly a cure-all for urban ills. But they can reboot the rules by which a city is governed — which in a place such as corruption-ridden Chicago, could be a welcome change. A charter could cut the size of the City Council. It could better define the independent legislative powers of the council too. It could more effectively require disclosure and review of major city contracts. Those are some of the textbook arguments. In the grit and sweat of the city's work, a charter might prevent debacles such as the city's giveaway of its parking meters, or even the midnight destruction of Meigs Field. It might allow recall votes for ineffective mayors. It could even forbid an alderman from running a law firm that specializes in real estate appeals. The list goes on — almost as far as the good-government imagination might run. The trouble is, if normal politics are the art of the possible, then the politics of a charter campaign might fairly be described as the art of the nearly impossible. Action by the state legislature would be an important first step. But downstate lawmakers would have little incentive to back the idea. Even the Chicago caucus likely would be split on the issue. Even so, the upside benefits are potentially powerful enough that a push for a Chicago city charter could be worth the effort, regardless of the odds. In fact, the notion of a charter for Chicago is having a moment of sorts. The boomlet can be traced to a book, ' The New Chicago Way,' published six years ago, in which authors Austin Berg and Ed Bachrach held up Chicago in woeful comparison to 14 other U.S. cities. Our history of strongman mayors; nearly bankrupt public schools; fiscal and pension problems; rising violent crime; and other urban ills are in some ways linked to the lack of a city charter for Chicago, they argued. The idea was big and also abstract. But instead of dying on a bookshelf, it improbably caught on — in a slow-smolder sort of way. One effort that could use a dose of oxygen is the push by state Rep. Kam Buckner to secure a vote for the state legislature to launch the charter process — the most direct path toward that end under state law. Buckner made the charter idea a centerpiece of his 2023 mayoral campaign — and got 2% of the primary vote. Undeterred, Buckner has introduced a bill in Springfield to create a broadly diverse charter commission. Details are still in flux, but Buckner envisions an elected commission. Public officials would not be eligible, and ideally the seats would be filled with people from all walks: labor, business, neighborhood-based organizations and good-government groups; and people with expertise in municipal finance, constitutional law, zoning, data and democracy. The charter movement has attracted some odd political bedfellows. Quinn, one of the most progressive governors in state history, unveiled his petition this week at a charter-focused forum sponsored by the conservative Illinois Policy Institute. Several Chicago aldermen showed up, too — including Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, who has called for a charter from the floor of the City Council. Legislative action will happen slowly, if at all. Inertia is hard to overcome. And those who benefit from the status quo won't let go easily. The charter is an abstract issue, and proponents have a difficult time making it viscerally meaningful to voters. Buckner figures the process could take a decade, all the more reason he argues the work needs to start now. And even downstate lawmakers eventually will back the idea, Buckner argues, because the state benefits when Chicago is strong and stable. 'This is big. It's difficult. It's bold,' Buckner told me. 'Let me remind people: We're Chicago. If people want to do it, we can put our minds together and do it right.' But a decade is too long to wait for reforms that are needed now. The City Council has it within its powers to take actions that would accomplish what a charter might. In fact, those protections the city IG is seeking against City Hall interference would be one place to start. In Chicago, it's never too soon to begin making government better.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Inside the most scrutinized closet in City Hall: Chicago mayor's office makes it public
The Brief The Chicago Mayor's office will soon allow public access to the controversial gift closet in City Hall. The closet came under scrutiny after an Inspector General report revealed violations of city ethics codes regarding gift reporting. A new policy will let people schedule appointments to view the items, with plans to donate many of them. CHICAGO - The most scrutinized closet in Chicago's City Hall will soon be open to the public. The Mayor's office granted Fox 32 Chicago a rare inside look at the closet, located on the third floor of City Hall, which became the focus of controversy after a report by Chicago's Inspector General. The backstory The report found that the Mayor had violated the city's ethics code concerning the accessibility and reporting of gifts received by the city. The report, released by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, revealed that investigators were repeatedly denied access to the closet. After several attempts, they received a list of about 300 items, but the majority lacked detailed information, such as the names of the individuals or organizations who had given the gifts. The report made headlines when it highlighted some extravagant gifts, including Gucci and Kate Spade bags, Hugo Boss cufflinks, and expensive bottles of liquor. However, the majority of the gifts were far more modest, including t-shirts, hats, sports memorabilia, and other items received at parades or public events. Deputy Mayor for Infrastructure and Services Lori Ann Lypson addressed the concerns, stating that many of the gifts were difficult to track because they were given at large city events where the gift-givers were often not identified. She explained that the items are logged on a public website, allowing the public to access the records. Dig deeper To further address the controversy, the Mayor's office is introducing a new policy that will allow the public to schedule 15-minute appointments to view the gift closet in person. Lypson noted that many of the items would eventually be donated to charity. "We'll be giving t-shirts to a homeless shelter for domestic violence, some of the artwork we'll donate to the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events or the library," said Lypson. The gift closet issue was also raised during Mayor Brandon Johnson's testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Sanctuary Cities last week, with Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill criticizing the ethical concerns raised by the closet's contents and reporting. What's next The public will soon be able to schedule time to view the closet, and the items will continue to be logged and donated as part of the Mayor's new policy.
