OIG Releases 2019 Second Quarter Report

OIG Releases 2019 Second Quarter Report

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its second quarter report for 2019 to the City Council. The report summarizes the Office’s activity from April 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019. This quarter’s report contains summaries of concluded investigations, inquiries, and other activities, including:

An OIG investigation established that a Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) investigator improperly conducted over 77 searches and accessed over 69 records involving the investigator’s brother, boyfriend, and boyfriend’s family members (all of whom were CPD officers). The investigator also failed to disclose these individuals as conflicts of interest. In an act of retaliation for cooperating with OIG's investigation, the investigator then falsely claimed that a coworker had carried a gun into the office to commit a shooting. COPA agreed with OIG’s recommendations to discharge and designate the investigator as ineligible for rehire. The City settled the investigator’s appeal by allowing the investigator to resign in lieu of discharge.

An OIG investigation completed in 2017 established that a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer made numerous false statements regarding secondary employment with a security firm for the Chicago Housing Authority. OIG’s analysis of the officer’s work records showed that in 2013 alone, the officer reported working more than 2,343 hours for the private security firm in addition to a full-time 40-hour per week position with CPD, with over 500 hours when the officer was on duty for CPD and the security firm at the same time. OIG recommended that CPD discharge the officer. CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs conducted an additional investigation and the disciplinary matter is now pending before the Police Board.

OIG investigations established that a City contractor and its minority-owned business enterprise subcontractor defrauded and deliberately overbilled the City for several years, while another woman-owned business enterprise acted impermissibly as a broker on a contract to provide janitorial products (for which it never took possession of or maintained inventory) to the City. In both instances, OIG recommended that the Department of Procurement Services initiate debarment proceedings.

· OIG investigations established that a Department of Streets and Sanitation employee possessed a firearm on City property and a City Treasurer’s Office employee failed to swipe in/out of work for at least four months, for which the employee still received full pay.

· OIG department notifications, which describe management problems observed by OIG, established that: Department of Water Management employees were unoccupied for 60-90 minutes at the end of their shifts; official CPD business was conducted on an unauthorized social media app; the Mayor’s security detail had a potential prohibited financial interest; and a non-City employee had unauthorized access to City facilities and vehicles and performed improper work at the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

The full report can be found on OIG’s website at: bit.ly/OIG2019Q2

Follow @ChicagoOIG on Twitter for the latest information on how OIG continues to fight waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency in Chicago government.

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