[remote or in-person] Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight

Politics

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025
10:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m. CST

121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Cary Robbins

Many alders voiced that the Ineligible for Rehire Policy needs to be standardized and all departments should be held at the same level of accountability. Department of Human Resources Commissioner Sandra Blakemore put together a working group to work on improvements.

View notes

Live reporting by Nikki Roberts

Nikki Roberts

Rise and shine, Chicago ⛅️ I'll be live reporting the Chicago City Council's Committee on Ethics & Government Oversight meeting for @CHIdocumenters this morning. The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. @chicago #CHIDocumenters

07:22 AM Jan 28, 2025 CST

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 2/43

Those interested can attend the meeting in person (City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago) or watch remotely at the link below. Or, follow this thread to stay updated! #CHIDocumenters chicityclerk.com

chicityclerk.com

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 3/43

There are three items on the agenda today: 1. Approval of the October 2024 Rule 45 Report 2. Discussion on City of Chicago policy regarding ineligibility for rehire. 3. Quarterly Report: Third Quarter 2024 Learn more here: chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Meeting/?meeti…

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Meeting/?meeti…

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 4/43

The meeting's live stream was made available at 10:30 a.m. You can access it here: chicityclerk.com/committee-ethi…

chicityclerk.com/committee-ethi…

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 5/43

The meeting came to order at 10:41. Quorum was established. Alderman Taylor is attending the meeting remotely. The meeting will begin with public comment.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 6/43

The first public speaker is Ms. Smith, who is advocating on behalf of victims of wrongful convictions & survivors of police misconduct Smith says there is no police officer accountability in this city & asks the committee to help and do what's right "We shouldn't have to beg."

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 7/43

Jessica Jackson is asking for a response to their written complaints. Jackson alleges their alderman has ignored their complaints and refused to meet with them. Jackson proceeded to read a pre-written statement questioning the ethics of this committee.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 8/43

The next speaker, Patricia, applied for a factory job after retiring. They said they were harassed for speaking English instead of Spanish at their new job. Patricia has several complaints about Venezuelan immigrants.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 9/43

The final public speaker is Peter of the 45th Ward. Peter is speaking regarding Ald. Jim Gardiner's $157K lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit claims Gardiner violated First Amendment rights by blocking critics from the ward's official Facebook page.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 10/43

Pete Czosnyka says it is unethical that the city is paying part of Gardiner's settlement. This concludes the public comment portion of the meeting.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 11/43

The committee has approved the October 2024 Rule 45 Report for the Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 12/43

The next item on the agenda is the Office of the Inspector General's third quarter report, which was released Oct. 15, 2024. The OIG received 2,053 intakes in the third quarter, down from 4,948 in the second quarter. The majority of intakes were received by email.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 13/43

There were 238 active misconduct investigations, mostly regarding city employees. Three city employees were found to have received fraudulent loans from the PPP program. This is part of a long-term PPP loan fraud investigation.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 14/43

The presentation is moving very quickly, so I want to provide a link to the full third-quarter OIG report: igchicago.org/wp-content/upl…

igchicago.org/wp-content/upl…

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 15/43

Here are a couple highlights: -OIG found a former high-ranking DBACP official subjected employees to prolonged verbal abuse. -COPA investigated whether a CPD officer used a racial slur against a member of the public.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 16/43

Another highlight from the Q3 report: The firm that leases Chicago Parking Meters wrongfully claimed credit as a minority-owned business. The firm failed to hire businesses owned by Black, Latino, and female Chicagoans. More on that here: news.wttw.com/2024/09/10/fir…

news.wttw.com/2024/09/10/fir…

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 17/43

Ald. Lawson asks about a Department of Finance employee who misused their access to city systems, notes that this access is concerning and may point to a larger problem. Lawson also notes that 90% of OIG intakes were misconduct vs inefficiency. How can we identify both?

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 18/43

Lawson asks about PPP loan investigations. There are about 1,000 PPP loan investigations under OIG jurisdiction. This is a long-term investigation, and termination of city employees found to have wrongly applied for a PPP loan is recommended.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 19/43

Ald. O'Shea asks for a list of city employees who fraudulently received a PPP loan, but were not discharged from their city jobs. O'Shea is concerned about government mistrust and does not want to see anyone who defrauds the gov't in a city role.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 20/43

Ald. Vasquez asks about vendors that are found to have committed fraud; how does the city reclaim lost funds? IG Witzburg says this matter is the responsibility of the Law Department.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 21/43

An important definition as we transition to discussing the city's policy regarding ineligibility for rehire: Shakman Exempt Positions include positions that involve policy making, or are confidential in such a way that political affiliation is an appropriate consideration.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 22/43

More on Shakman Exempt Positions here: cookcountyil.gov/service/exempt…

cookcountyil.gov/service/exempt…

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 23/43

While responding to a written comment from a member of the public, IG Witzburg says Law Department attorneys — the mayor's lawyers — routinely demand to be present during OIG interviews. Witzburg says she does not permit this and finds it extremely inappropriate.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 24/43

Witzburg adds that she cannot expect people to be candid during OIG interviews when Law Department attorneys are present. She sees their requests to be present as impeding investigations.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 25/43

The next item on the agenda is a discussion on the city's policy regarding its "ineligibility for rehire" list. This policy is under the jurisdiction of the city's Department of Human Resources.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 26/43

DHR Commissioner Sandra Blakemore is present to give history and insight on the Ineligible for Rehire (IFR) policy. The first written policy was made in 2011. It was updated in 2019 under Comissioner Soo Choi. Blakemore made clarifications to IFR in May 2024.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 27/43

IFR policy designates former city employees as ineligible for rehire during their termination process. There are 4 ways to receive this designation: 1. Violation of city personnel rules 2. Reisgning in lieu of termination 3. Resigning while under inquiry resulting in misconduct

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 28/43

4. Discovery that employee engaged in misconduct while employed with the city

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 29/43

Commissioner Blakemore aims to "close loopholes and add additional clarifications" by the end of Q1 2025.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 30/43

Ald. Waguespack asks about the timeline for IFR removals & appeals. Why must people wait 1 year to be removed from the list, and why can they only appeal every 2 years? Blakemore says 1 yr min. is needed to demonstrate change.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 31/43

Waguespack asks about false IFR designations; how can this be righted by waiting a year? Blakemore says she cannot speak to specific false designation cases.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 32/43

Waguespack asks what will be done when someone with IFR "pops up at a sister agency." What would Blakemore's response be, and will this be part of the clarifications she is making? Blakemore says the challenge is these sister agencies are third-party entities.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 33/43

Waguespack says he feels false IFR designations are abusing employees and are used as an act of retaliation. He wants to make sure this policy is strengthened so those abusing it are also held accountable.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 34/43

Chairman Martin asks Blakemore what she views her role to be when she receives termination memos; does she just receive them, or does she verify and question them to ensure there are no frivolous IFR designations?

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 35/43

For those keeping track of time, the meeting was scheduled to end at 12:30 p.m. We are now over the scheduled time.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 36/43

Blakemore clarifies that anyone who feels they are wrongly on the IFR list may appeal at any time. "I am not trying to keep anyone in purgatory. I'm trying to prevent a revolving door of, 'you were fired on Wednesday and hired on Friday'."

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 37/43

Blakemore says there are around 1,300 people on the IFR list. For comparison, there are presently about 32,000 city employees. 120 people were added to the IFR list in 2024. There is an average of 145 people added each year.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 38/43

Ald. Vasquez asks for a breakdown of people on the IFR list by race, gender, and other factors, separated by year or term.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 39/43

Ald. Vasquez says if OIG finds a supervisor misused the list, every person the supervisor placed on the list should be investigated to prevent wrongful IFR placement.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 40/43

Ald. Lee thanks Blakemore for the work she has done on the IFR policy. She asks for more standardization for aldermanic offices and the mayor's office. She asks how long a person will remain on the list if they do not appeal. Blakemore says the IFR flag is indefinite.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 41/43

Ald. Villegas clarifies that aldermanic offices cannot hire people on the IFR list. Departments including Chicago Park District CAN hire people on the IFR list. He asks if an ordinance can be put in place to create standardization across city agencies.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 42/43

Ald. Villegas, "IFR, to me, is a death penalty" to people trying to start a career in public service. He says only those with serious or criminal infractions should be placed on the list.

Nikki Roberts @bynikkiroberts 43/43

The meeting adjourned at 1:17 p.m.

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Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

See Documenters reporting

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago and consists of the Mayor and Aldermen elected from each of the City’s fifty wards. Source

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At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page. If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

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