The Office of Inspector General (OIG) and its Public Safety section have achieved full compliance with all requirements and have met all corresponding deadlines in the consent decree entered in Illinois v. Chicago. OIG is the first City Department to achieve full compliance with all consent decree obligations; its compliance is reported in Independent Monitoring Report 4 (IMR4), filed by Independent Monitor Maggie Hickey.
OIG was assessed across a range of its operations, and work in satisfaction of its obligations is performed by its Investigations, Legal, and Public Safety sections, and its Center on Information Technology and Analytics. Consent decree obligations fully satisfied by OIG include:
- Under Paragraph 440, OIG notifies COPA, in its clearinghouse capacity, of complaints received of police misconduct;
- Under Paragraph 444, OIG reviews, assesses, and reports on investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by CPD members;
- Under Paragraph 557, the Public Safety section conducts evaluative projects in compliance with the Association of Inspectors General Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General;
- Under Paragraph 558, the Public Safety section has studied and reported on various specific topics, and OIG has reported data showing patterns and trends in complaints of police misconduct;
- Under Paragraph 559, the Public Safety section reviews closed disciplinary investigations conducted by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) for thoroughness, fairness, and objectivity;
- Under Paragraph 561, the Public Safety section includes a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion who reviews CPD’s actions for potential bias, including racial bias;
- Under Paragraph 562, the Public Safety section provides comprehensive initial and in-service training to its members; and
- Under Paragraph 565, the Public Safety section meets quarterly with representatives of COPA and the Police Board to confer and share information.
“We are pleased to have been found in full compliance with all of our consent decree obligations,” said Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety Deborah Witzburg. “The progress and pace of reform is a matter of critical importance for the City. The City will be best served by meetings the rest of its mandates as swiftly as possible.”
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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.