OIG Releases Third Quarter 2024 Report, Documenting Inefficiencies in City Programs, Misspent Funds, Recoveries Resulting from Investigations as City Faces Budget Crisis

October 15, 2024

FOR RELEASE:
October 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 third quarter of 2024, which summarizes concluded investigations, inquiries, intakes, and other operations of OIG, from July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. This report has been filed with City Council, per § 2-56-120 of the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC).

"We publish this report as the City reckons with an annual budgeting process which, this year, must answer for and address a deficit of nearly one billion dollars. To be sure, the highest costs at issue in OIG's work don't come with price tags; it is difficult to put a price on legitimacy or a price tag on accountability. When I talk about prioritizing the work that best positions us to pay down the deficit of legitimacy at which the City of Chicago operates, that deficit is a metaphorical one, and even our most impactful work in paying down probably cannot be measured in dollars, said Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago.

"It matters, though, that we are doing that work against the backdrop of a very significant deficit of very literal dollars. I do not believe that counting dollars is the right measure for effective oversight because transparency doesn't show up on a balance sheet and accountability doesn't earn interest; Chicagoans are entitled to them all the same. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that, in this quarter alone, much of our program and policy work identified and addressed inefficiencies in City programs and opportunities for cost savings, and our investigative work uncovered misspent funds and resulted in meaningful fines and recoveries."

Efforts which go to the City's bottom line, as reported this quarter, include:

• An updated data dashboard on patrol staffing resources in the Chicago Police Departmentand an accompanying report, highlighting data deficits which are an obstacle to efficient and cost-effective resource allocation in the department which, by a wide margin, occupies the largest portion of the City's budget;
• An audit of the City's workers' compensation program, assessing efficiency and cost controls in a City program that had, during our period of inquiry, open claims expected to cost over half a billion dollars across their lifetimes;
• A notificationon the City's failure to realize disadvantaged business participation goals in its decades-old lease of the City's parking meters to a private entity, compounding the ill effects of a disastrously expensive deal for Chicago;
• A notification on confusion and uncertainty regarding the interpretation and applicability of a long-standing memorandum of understanding on the question of whether certain City employees were entitled to court holiday hours toward overtime calculations;
• An investigation revealed up to $489,000 in fees improperly paid to a Department of Law contractor;
• Board of Ethics casesresulting from OIG investigations in which the Board has voted to pursue disciplinary fines;
• A court order requiring a City contractor to pay fines and costs for having obstructed an OIG investigation and making false statements; and
• Two debarment actions arising from OIG investigations in which the City will recover a total of $150,000.

Meanwhile, OIG continues its ongoing efforts to hold bad actors accountable when they abuse the public trust. This quarter, among others, OIG reports sustainedallegations of misconductagainst:

• Two City employees who fraudulently received funds from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);
• A former high-ranking official who treated multiple employees discourteously, including by yelling at, disrespecting, and belittling subordinate employees, creating a hostile work environment, and who lied to OIG investigators;
• Chicago Police Department supervisors, one of whom has retired and one of whom has been promoted, who used excessive force against a protestor; and
• City employees and officials who committed time fraud, violations of the residency rule, and sexual harassment.

In addition to its investigative work, OIG processed 2,053 new intakes and concluded 24 misconduct investigations this quarter. OIG also published three recommendations to reopen closed investigations by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability that were found to be materially deficient, as well as several inquiry reports including an explainer on the City's campaign finance laws and gaps.

Read the Report

Read the full report, released on October 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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