The Chicago mayor’s office accepted gifts—including jewelry, handbags, and alcohol—on behalf of the city without public reporting, according to an investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The report found that, under an unwritten arrangement dating back to the administration of Mayor Eugene Sawyer, gifts received by the mayor’s office were not reported through the Board of Ethics or the city comptroller, as required of other city offices.
“When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny of the propriety of such gifts, the identities or intentions of the gift-givers, or what it means for gifts like whiskey, jewelry, handbags, and size 14 men’s shoes to be accepted ‘on behalf of the City,’” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said in the report.
“It is perhaps more important than ever that Chicagoans can trust their City government, and for decades we have given people no reason at all to trust what goes on in the dark.”
As part of its investigation, OIG personnel visited the fifth floor of City Hall in a covert capacity and requested to see the logbook where gifts were supposedly recorded. Their request was denied, and they were directed to file a Freedom of Information Act request, according to the report. OIG did so, again in a covert capacity, but the mayor’s office failed to respond in a timely manner, effectively denying the request.
Following a formal document request, OIG received a spreadsheet listing gifts received by the mayor’s office. Among the items logged were:
- Hugo Boss cufflinks
- Givenchy, Gucci and Kate Spade handbags
- A personalized Mont Blanc pen
- Size 14 men’s shoes
- Whiskey and other alcohol
- Jewelry
According to the report, many of the gifts were marked as being stored in a designated “gift room,” while others were kept in the mayor’s personal office in City Hall.
Seeking further clarification, OIG conducted an unannounced visit to inspect the gift room but was denied access, the report states.
OIG recommended that the mayor’s office comply with standard city rules for reporting gifts and allow both announced and unannounced inspections of the gift room. In response, the mayor’s office said it would allow OIG access, but only with a “properly scheduled appointment.” The office also included a letter from the Board of Ethics concurring with OIG’s recommendation for public reporting, stating it would “work closely with [BOE] to transition to this new guidance.”
“These gifts are, by definition, City property; if they are squirreled away and hidden from view, people are only left to assume the worst about how they are being handled,” Witzburg said. “If we do not govern responsibly on the small things, we cannot ask people to trust the government on the big ones.”
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