Chicago City Council Approves Watered Down IG Ordinance

Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson

The Chicago City Council voted 25-23 to approve a watered down version of an ordinance transferring oversight of the Legislative Inspector General to the Inspector General charged with overseeing city employees in their performance of duties.

Although the Inspector General can now investigate aldermen and/or their staff members for possible criminal behavior or misconduct, it doesn’t allow the office to perform audits to determine if aldermen or staff members are squandering taxpayers’ dollars.

While Inspector General Joe Ferguson appreciated the City Council’s shutting down the Legislative Inspector General’s office, which he said only gave the appearance of oversight, he scolded those in support of the weakened ordinance for squandering the opportunity for ethics reform.

“Today’s oversight transfer legislation nudges the ball forward, but leaves Chicago with a form of Council oversight that is still separate (procedurally) and unequal (substantively), from the rest of City government,” Ferguson said in a letter to Chicago taxpayers and residents.

“The new law hands to the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigative oversight that is jurisdictionally constricted and fully amputates from the negotiated legislation, audit and program review authority in relation to programs and operations that Chicago alone among major cities administers through its legislative body.”

Ferguson also encouraged Chicagoans to submit complaints of aldermen and their staffs to his office, which he said would be investigated when warranted. (Read the Inspector General’s letter to Chicago taxpayers and residents.)

Among the aldermen who voted no to the purported toothless ordinance was Matt O’Shea (19th), one of the original ordinance’s 30 co-sponsors. While O’Shea said he still fundamentally believes it is unfair to treat aldermen differently than other municipal employees, the measure he helped introduce was “amended to dilute its impact over the objections of myself and other key sponsors.”

“These changes ultimately led me to vote against this legislation. While there are many aspects of the amended ordinance that I support, it does not go as far as the initial proposal,” O’Shea explained. “Specifically, it gives the IG authority to investigate potential criminal behavior without allowing the office to performs audits or explore issues involving waste and mismanagement.”

O’Shea added that his no vote did not mean he was against supporting greater authority for the IG, but because he believed the “original ordinance was a more effective, appropriate measure for the City Council.

Here’s how Wednesday’s vote broke down:

Yeas (25): Brian Hopkins, 2nd; Will Burns, 4th; Leslie Hairston, 5th; Roderick Sawyer, 6th; Gregory Mitchell, 7th; Michelle Harris, 8th; Anthony Beale, 9th; Patrick Thompson, 11th; George Cardenas, 12th; Edward Burke, 14th; Raymond Lopez, 15th; David Moore, 17th; Derrick Curtis, 18th; Howard Brookins, 21st; Ricardo Munoz, 22nd; Daniel Solis, 25th; Walter Burnett, 27th; Jason Ervin, 28th; Ariel Reboyras, 30th; Gilbert Villegas, 36th; Emma Mitts, 37th; Margaret Laurino, 39th; Patrick O’Connor, 40th; Thomas Tunney, 44th; Joseph Moore, 49th.

Nays (23): Proco Joe Moreno, 1st; Pat Dowell, 3rd; Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th; Marty Quinn, 13th; Toni Foulkes, 16th; Matthew O’Shea, 19th; Willie Cochran, 20th; Michael Zalewski, 23rd; Michael Scott Jr., 24th; Chris Taliaferro, 29th; Milagros “Milly” Santiago, 31st; Scott Waguespack, 32nd; Deborah Mell, 33rd; Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th; Nicholas Sposato, 38th; Anthony Napolitano, 41st; Brendan Reilly, 42nd; Michele Smith, 43rd; John Arena, 45th; James Cappleman, 46th; Ameya Pawar, 47th; Harry Osterman, 48th; Debra Silverstein, 50th.

Absent (2): Roberto Maldonado, 26th; Carrie Austin, 34th.