The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its third quarter report for 2018 to the City Council. The report summarizes the Office’s activity from July 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018. This quarter’s report contains summaries of concluded OIG investigations, inquiries, and other activities, including:
- An OIG investigation which established criminal theft and diversion of Special Service Area (SSA) funds (local tax districts which fund expanded services and programs throughout the City) by the executive director of a contractor through forgery, as well as an associated criminal prosecution by the Cook County State’s Attorney, of a bank employee associated with the executive director who facilitated the unauthorized cash withdrawals of such funds (State of Illinois v. Alyssa Cornejo).
- An OIG investigation which established that an Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) police communications operator (PCO) knowingly disseminated confidential, operationally sensitive information from a 911 call. The PCO received an emergency call regarding a woman who allegedly placed a gun in the trunk of her car and communicated that information to the PCO’s daughter, who called the woman in question, alerting her to the police’s arrival. The PCO did not send the call to dispatch until the subject of the call was notified, thus purposely delaying highly relevant information to the Chicago Police Department. OIG recommended that OEMC discharge the PCO; the PCO resigned and was placed on the ineligible for rehire list.
- An OIG investigation which established that a Department of Planning and Development clerk accessed 356 pornographic images and videos on City computers, in addition to making inappropriate sexual comments to customers. As a result of OIG’s findings and recommendations, the employee resigned in lieu of discharge and was placed on the ineligible for rehire list.
- An OIG investigation which established that two City of Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) employees repeatedly directed their subordinates at a Specialty Clinic to engage in inappropriate practices in the Partner Services program, which is designed to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections by helping patients identify and notify sexual partners about possible exposure. The supervisors directed their employees to add sex partner names to patient files when there was no apparent connection between the patients and the partners added. One supervising employee also recommended maintaining a list of partner names that could be added to the files of patients for whom sexual partners could not be identified. OIG recommended that CDPH impose discipline up to and including discharge, and in response CDPH issued 29-day suspensions.
- An OIG investigation established that a Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) employee failed to collect the application processing fee for an event an alderman was organizing, in addition to failing to process fees for over 90 other special event permit applications in 2017, resulting in $32,200 in outstanding fees. OIG recommended that DCASE impose discipline against the employee, commensurate with the gravity of the employee’s violations. In response, DCASE suspended the employee for two weeks and provided a list of written job expectations for the employee to complete by the end of 2018.
The full report can be found on the OIG website: bit.ly/OIG2018Q3
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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The mission of the independent and non-partisan 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 investigations and audits into most aspects of City government. If you see corruption, fraud, or waste of any kind, we need to hear from you. For more information, visit our website at: www.igchicago.org.