On July 16, 2025, Chicago’s City Council voted overwhelmingly in support of Ordinance SO2025-0015583, which protects against threats posed by City Hall practices to the independence and effectiveness of the investigative work done by the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Specifically, the new law allows OIG to protect the integrity and confidentiality of its investigative interviews by limiting the circumstances under which City lawyers may be present, and permits OIG’s review of certain records which the City claims are subject to attorney-client privilege. The version of the ordinance which passed into law was a compromise reached among the Office of Inspector General, the City’s Department of Law, and the Chair of the City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight.
“OIG has been fighting the City’s efforts to hide behind improper claims of attorney-client privilege for almost 20 years, when a dispute on this issue began and eventually landed in the Illinois Supreme Court,” said Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. “City Hall could essentially choose which City records were subject to oversight and which were not. That changed yesterday. The new law was a compromise and, as with all compromises, it is not everything we would have liked. It is, though, a tremendous step toward aligning Chicago with national standards and federal law on independent oversight. I am deeply grateful to our partners in City government and in Chicago’s good government community for their work on this ordinance.”
“Independence is the hallmark and the lifeblood of effective oversight. City Council has shown overwhelming, principled support for that independence, and as of yesterday, OIG is better positioned than at any time in recent memory to conduct oversight which pays down the deficit of legitimacy at which the City of Chicago operates,” Witzburg said. “Having secured protections which have eluded this office for so many years, I have decided not to seek a second term. I can be confident that, at the end of my term in April, I will leave OIG better and stronger than I found it. The work of this office—of which I am deeply proud—is neither a sprint nor a marathon. It’s a relay race; it is our responsibility to run as hard as we can while it is our turn, and then pass the baton having gained as much ground as possible. We will have a great deal to do and to say between now and April, and then I will happily pass a more effective, more independent OIG along to its next steward.”
About the Office of Inspector General
The mission of the independent and nonpartisan 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 inquiries into most aspects of City government.
If you see misconduct, mismanagement, ineffectiveness, or inefficiency, we need to hear from you.
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