Skip to main content

Stay in the know. Subscribe to the OIG Bulletin.

Our Office

Chicago Office of Inspector General

The Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) is an independent agency that promotes economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity in the administration of programs and operation of City government. OIG is a watchdog for the taxpayers of the City, and it has jurisdiction to conduct independent inquiries into most aspects of City government. OIG investigates City officials, employees, agencies, contractors, and those who seek to do business with the City or seek certification to participate in any City program. Also, OIG conducts audits, reviews, and evaluations of the operations and policies of City departments, programs, and functions.

OIG derives its authority from the Municipal Code of Chicago

Read the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) § 2-56.

OIG is funded with a mandatory minimum percentage of the City of Chicago’s total budget, as required by the MCC. OIG’s 2023 budget appropriation is $13,036,466; OIG has 125 appropriated full-time employees.

AIG Peer Review: Oversight for the overseers

Chicago OIG is a certified, peer-reviewed member of the Association of Inspectors General (AIG), a non-profit membership organization for agencies and professionals in the inspector general community. As a member of AIG, we participate in a rigorous peer review process to assess our compliance with professional standards.

Every three years, we invite a team of inspectors from other oversight agencies across the country to review our policies and practices, interview our staff, etc., and provide us with any recommendations to improve our operations.

Learn more about OIG Peer Reviews.

Office sections

OIG is organized into six practice area sections: Audit and Program Review, Information Technology and Analytics, Investigations, Legal, Operations, and Public Safety.

OIG’s audits and program reviews serve to improve economy, effectiveness, and efficiency in the delivery of City services. These independent, objective, nonpartisan analyses and evaluations of City programs and operations comply with the federal Government Accountability Office’s generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Search publications.

How does OIG track and report on whether a department has implemented recommendations from a published report? 

OIG typically conducts a follow-up assessment six months to one year after it has issued an audit report. The resulting follow-up report details whether and to what extent a department has implemented corrective actions in response to audit recommendations.

OIG analyzes and centralizes data collected from sources across City departments on the OIG Information Portal. Data sources include Chicago Police Department (CPD), Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), Chicago Integrated Personnel and Payroll Systems (CHIPPS), and City of Chicago Data Portal. Updated regularly, the data is cleaned and validated, and presented in 40 public-facing dashboards, for easy search and engagement across four categories: City Finances, City Employees, Open OIG, and Public Safety. 

Visit the Information Portal.

OIG conducts criminal and administrative investigations of allegations of corruption, misconduct, waste, or substandard performance by government officers, employees, contractors, vendors, and licensees, among others.  

What is an OIG investigation?

An investigation is the process by which OIG gathers facts and analyzes evidence to determine whether a law, rule (including the City’s Personnel Rules), or regulation has been violated. An investigation may require interviews of witnesses and subjects, review and analysis of documents, surveillance, or other investigative techniques, depending on the allegation.  

OIG initiates investigations of its own volition and in response to complaints or suggestions from the public, City employees, and contractors regarding misconduct, waste, fraud, and abuse in connection with City operations and business. (Submit a complaint with the online intake form.)

Are OIG investigations confidential? 

By ordinance, all OIG investigations are confidential. 

What is O’Hare 21? 

OIG is engaged in proactive oversight and partnership with the integrity monitors on the O’Hare 21 modernization program, a long-term, multi-billion dollar project at one of Chicago’s international airports. OIG maintains an onsite presence at O’Hare Airport for this purpose. 

Learn more about O’Hare 21.

OIG’s Legal section provides legal guidance and counsel to all of OIG’s functions and operations. Within the Legal section, the Compliance unit issues guidance, training, and program recommendations to City departments on a broad and complex array of employment-related actions; monitors human resources activities, including recruiting, hiring, and promotion; performs legally mandated and discretionary audits; and reviews the City’s employment practices to ensure compliance with the various City Employment Plans, which are designed in part to eliminate improper political factors from the City’s hiring and promotion decisions. 

Read more about the City’s Hiring Plans and OIG’s role in City employment-related oversight.

How do City employees comply with political contact reporting requirements?

Those Employment Plans require that all City employees, regardless of whether they hold exempt or non-exempt positions, report any contact(s) they have with any elected or appointed official of any political party or anyone acting on behalf of an elected or appointed official, political party, or political organization, if that contact involves an attempt to inquire about a position or affect an employment action involving an applicant or employee who is applying for or holds a non-exempt position.  

Active City employees can report any political contacts by filling out a political contact reporting form. 

Operations support the day-to-day operational functions of OIG by providing budgetary, fiscal, human resources, and communications services. Operations also coordinates and implements innovative solutions and best practices, so OIG’s mission components are able to work effectively and in accordance with legal requirements. 

OIG’s Public Safety section works to improve the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Chicago’s police accountability agencies, and to transform the critical relationship between CPD and the communities it serves. OIG’s Public Safety section conducts independent and objective evaluations, inspections, and reviews of the operations of CPD, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and the Chicago Police Board. These inquiries are designed to promote constitutional, community-based policing, as well as a transparent, accessible, and fair system for police accountability and discipline. 

Chicago’s public safety ecosystem: How does OIG Public Safety differ from COPA, BIA, and the Chicago Police Board?

OIG’s Public Safety section exercises independent civilian oversight of COPA, the Police Board, and CPD, including its Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA), conducting inspections, evaluations, and reviews of the processes, functions, operations, and policies of all of those departments. This jurisdiction allows Public Safety to look at systemic and programmatic issues, whereas COPA, BIA, and the Chicago Police Board primarily focus on individual conduct and performance in the context of disciplinary investigations.