OIG Releases Second Quarter 2024 Report, Documenting Sustained Investigations into Serious Misconduct – Including Using City Title for Personal Gain, A Manager Encouraging[...]

July 15, 2024

FOR RELEASE:
July 15, 2024

PRESS CONTACT:
Deanna Shoss, Communications, 773-478-8417

The City of ChicagoOffice of Inspector General(OIG) has published its Quarterly Report for the second quarter of 2024, which summarizes concluded investigations, inquiries, intakes, and other operations of OIG, from April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024. This report has been filed with City Council, pursuant to § 2-56-120 of the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC).

"A thread runs through a number of the matters which are reported herein: that here in City government, the rules ought to apply to everyone-regardless of titles, relationships, or contract amounts," said Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. "We will continue to pursue aggressive enforcement of the City's rules against all those who break them, as we work to pay down the deficit of legitimacy at which Chicago operates."

In its quarterly report, as required by law, OIG publishes de-identified summaries of sustained, completed investigations within the quarter. Among others, OIG investigations reported this quarter have revealed:

• A high-ranking Chicago Fire Department(CFD) official violated City rules when they appeared, bearing their CFD uniform and implements, at an inspection being conducted by another City department at the property of a personal friend. OIG concluded that the subject's conduct created an appearance of impropriety as evidenced by testimony from the inspection task force members.
• On several instances in 2022 and 2023, a former deputy mayor possessed and consumed alcohol on City time, encouraged subordinate employees to drink alcohol on City time, and drove a City vehicle after consuming alcohol. OIG recommended that the Mayor's Office refer the former deputy mayor and another former senior employee of the Mayor's Office, who reportedly conducted interviews of Mayoral Fellows after telling witnesses they were "too drunk" to do so, for placement on the ineligible for rehire list maintained by the Department of Human Resources.
• A major City contractor misrepresented their status as a City-based business in five separate City bid packages in order to secure a bidding advantage on $50 million worth of infrastructure contracts; the City has initiated debarment proceedings against that contractor on the basis of OIG's investigation.
• Long-time Alderman Edward M. Burke has been sentenced in a criminal case related to an OIG investigation.

In addition to its investigative work, OIG processed 4,948 new intakes and concluded 34misconductinvestigations this quarter. OIG also released inquiry reports including a follow-up report on the Chicago Police Department's preparedness for mass gatherings and a follow-up audit of the Department of Buildings permit inspection process.

Read the Report

Read the full report, released on July 15, 2024.

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About the Office of Inspector General

The mission of the independent and nonpartisan City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to promote economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity by identifying corruption, waste, and mismanagement in City government. OIG is a watchdog for the taxpayers of the City and has jurisdiction to conduct inquiries into most aspects of City government.

If you see misconduct, mismanagement, ineffectiveness, or inefficiency, we need to hear from you.

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