The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit of the Department of Law’s (DOL) process for notifying people of sanitation code violations cited by the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS), such as overflowing garbage containers or uncut weeds, which finds that DOL took an average of 289 days—more than […]
Read MoreAuthor Archives: Amir Nijem
OIG Releases Advisory Concerning Streets and Sanitation Providing Inconsistent Free Garbage Collection to Certain Nonprofits
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released an advisory which finds that the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) violated the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) by providing free garbage collection to at least 1,182 nonprofit entities. The MCC requires all recipients of City garbage collection service to pay $9.50 per […]
Read MoreSignificant Activity Report: United States v. John McClendon
On February 5, 2019, John McClendon, owner and president of McClendon Holdings LLC, was indicted on federal criminal charges, including four charges of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343) for defrauding the City of Chicago, by falsifying price increases in two City contracts that were secured in 2014 and 2015. The indictment alleges that McClendon won […]
Read MoreSignificant Activity Report: United States v. Tara Smith
Judge Sara Ellis of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sentenced former Public Building Commission (PBC) Manager of Payroll and Benefits Tara Smith to 36 months of probation, 200 hours of community service, and restitution in the amount of $51,018 to PBC and $40,371 to the Internal Revenue Service, for […]
Read MoreSignificant Activity Report: State of Illinois v. John Balzano
On October 5, 2018, John Balzano pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1 million from the City of Chicago via a contracting pass-through scheme. Standing before Circuit Court Judge Kenneth J. Wadas, Mr. Balzano plead guilty to one Class 1 felony of theft of government property (720 ILCS 5/16-1(a)(2)) and one Class 2 felony of fraudulently […]
Read MoreSignificant Activity Report State of Illinois v. Christopher Williams
A former employee for a City of Chicago contractor working as a security guard pleaded guilty to theft of government property in a scheme to defraud the City of thousands in taxpayer money. Christopher Williams, a security guard with City contractor SkyTech Security Services, pleaded guilty Monday morning before Circuit Court Judge Erica L. Reddick […]
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