Quarterly Report: Third Quarter 2023

Executive Summary

This quarter, OIG marks substantial disciplinary results arising from our investigative work, a continuation of the more frequent and more rigorous enforcement of the City’s ethics rules highlighted in last quarter’s report, improved outcomes in police misconduct investigations under our review, and both the identification and realization of opportunities to improve the economy and effectiveness of City operations.

Herein, we report on OIG’s first concluded investigation into a City employee’s fraudulent receipt of a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. This is the first public reporting out of a large-scale, ongoing effort; OIG obtained data for the more than 20 million PPP and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and analyzed over 350,000 issued in the Chicago area to identify disbursements to City officials and employees. OIG’s proactive data analysis has identified over 1,000 EIDL and PPP loans issued to individuals within OIG’s jurisdiction. Some of those loans may have been obtained legitimately, but a substantial number of the identified loans have indicators of potential fraud. We continue to investigate these matters and will continue to report publicly on investigative outcomes as appropriate.