Alleging Obstruction, Chicago’s Inspector General Turns to City Council for Stronger Laws

Johnson, Lightfoot accused of impeding inspector general's investigations

Mayor Brandon Johnson and his predecessor Lori Lightfoot were accused Thursday of impeding the work of Chicago’s inspector general — by withholding documents, selectively enforcing subpoenas and demanding to have the Law Department sit in on interviews that “risk embarrassment” to the mayor.The investigative roadblocks outlined by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg include picking and choosing which subpoenas to comply with and withholding or un…

Alleging Obstruction, Chicago’s Inspector General Turns to City Council for Stronger Laws

In a memo sent Friday to the Chicago City Council’s ethics committee, city  Inspector General Deborah Witzburg laid out a series of what her office characterizes as obstructions by the city’s law department and sought new legislation to buttress the OIG’s independence.  In unusually strong language for a council memo, the document alleges that the city’s Department of Law “selectively acts in opposition to OIG’s investigative work when OIG’s wor…