Category Archives: Press Releases

The Inspector General’s Office (OIG) for the City of Chicago filed an action in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, to enforce a subpoena for documents that OIG served on the City’s Department of Law. OIG took this step because the Law Department has not complied with OIG’s subpoena, and […]

A City of Chicago zoning inspector has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. In exchange for his cooperation, federal prosecutors are recommending that William Wellhausen be sentenced to 15 months in prison and pay fines totaling more than $33,000.

A criminal complaint has been unsealed against Michael Cease, an inspector in the City of Chicago’s Department of Environment. Cease is charged with federal bribery for allegedly accepting two cash bribe payments totaling $1,150 in September. The 39-year-old was arrested following an investigation by the City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office and the FBI.

A City of Chicago building inspector was arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint for allegedly accepting cash bribes. The complaint alleges Dominick Owens took more than $20,000 in bribes. In return for delivering Certificates of Occupancy for numerous construction projects.

A jury in U.S. District Court has convicted Michael Reese (a Supervising Building/Construction Inspector for the City of Chicago) on two counts of making false statements and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Reese becomes the 12th person convicted as part of “Operation Crooked Code”, a joint investigation between the Department of Justice and […]

The Cook County State’s Attorneys Office announced a four-count indictment today against a former employee of the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. During the course of an unrelated investigation in July 2008, the Inspector General’s Office discovered a copy of a $20,000 check, made out to the defendant, Ming Liu. Because the check’s signature was […]