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The Latest Breaking News from Deborah Witzburg

Chicago is required to have a chief administrative officer; it hasn’t for decades

The city’s inspector general cited the Hilco smokestack demolition debacle as one of 11 “missed opportunities” where interdepartmental coordination could have been improved had a chief administrative officer been on the job — as is required under city code.

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago still lacks tools to police recycling scofflaws: watchdog report

The city’s inspector general’s office reports the city still hasn’t fixed problems with making sure businesses, apartment buildings and condos provide recycling.

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago police can’t dismiss seriousness of officers’ ties to right-wing extremist groups

It shouldn’t take the city’s inspector general’s goading for the Chicago Police Department to acknowledge the glaring red flags that were unfurled as soon as a picture of Officer Kyle Mingari wearing a Three Percenters face mask emerged .

Chicago Sun-Times

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‘It’s a joke!’ City Council members grill Chicago police officials about extremists in their ranks

Chicago City Council members repeatedly expressed frustration Wednesday as police officials gave conflicting, sometimes puzzling reasons why they have not moved more aggressively against officers tied to far-right groups implicated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Chicago Sun-Times

Ethics board wants Lightfoot campaign investigated, state bill seeks temp worker protections and more in your Chicago news roundup

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Chicago Sun-Times

Board of Ethics wants Lightfoot campaign investigated over recruiting student volunteers from CPS, City Colleges

The email deputy campaign manager Megan Crane sent to Chicago Public School teachers offered their students class credit if they agreed to volunteer for the mayor’s re-election campaign.

Chicago Sun-Times

Shoddy investigations of officers tied to Oath Keepers, Proud Boys diminishes CPD’s integrity

It’s not illegal to belong to these groups, which federal authorities have identified as plotting the Jan. 6 insurrection. But it is certainly not an “accomplishment” either, as one officer apparently bragged.

Chicago Sun-Times

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For 2nd time in a week, Chicago Police Department under fire over handling of a cop accused of belonging to extremist group

The city’s inspector general on Friday questioned the thoroughness of an internal investigation into the officer after it was reported that he was a member of the Oath Keepers.

Chicago Sun-Times

Civil rights organization blasts Chicago mayor, top cop for not firing officer for his links to the far-right Proud Boys

“Any individual who is tasked with protecting the public cannot be trusted to do so equitably when they associate with an openly racist, bigoted, and misogynistic organization,” wrote Jeff Tischauser of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Sigcho-Lopez calls for hearings on CPD officer suspended over ties to the Proud Boys

The department’s handling of the probe “points out a much bigger problem about how internal affairs — and how, in general, the police department — is accountable to the public,” the alderperson said.

Chicago Sun-Times

The slow pace of police reform victimizes Chicagoans — and drains their wallets

Critics tell us that payouts now in the hundreds of millions are a sign that the city and police department are not serious enough about reform. If they were, Chicagoans would see real accountability, better policies and better outcomes.

Chicago Sun-Times

Two Chicago cops face dismissal for allegedly lying about 2010 fatal shooting

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said the officers repeatedly lied about the shooting of 25-year-old William Hope Jr., whose family was awarded $4.6 million in a lawsuit filed against the city.

Chicago Sun-Times

It sets a bad precedent when cop with Proud Boys ties gets a pass

It’s deeply troubling that the Chicago Police Department overlooked incriminating evidence and didn’t even consider firing Bakker for making inconsistent statements to authorities about his ties to the insurrectionist group.

Chicago Sun-Times

Watchdog: CPD overlooked incriminating evidence while investigating cop’s ties to far right Proud Boys and should have fired him

“This case represents a determination that someone who made ‘false’ and ‘contradicting’ statements about his association with the Proud Boys should continue to wear the uniform of the Chicago Police Department,” the city’s inspector general told the Sun-Times.

Chicago Sun-Times

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Chicago Sun-Times

City Council member warns about possibility of fraud in gas, Ventra card giveaways

Ald. Brendan Reilly said a constituent who had received one of the gas cards told him he was able to overcharge the card by “$50 or $60” and sent him the receipts. Reilly now wants to know “how many others are out there.”

Chicago Sun-Times

IG’s quarterly report highlights wrongdoing by former police officer, COPA investigator

A now-former Chicago Police officer was accused Friday of using CPD resources to operate an unlicensed private security company whose clients included bars and nightclubs that serve alcohol, in direct violation of the code of conduct.

Chicago Sun-Times

Taxpayers shell out $250M in police-related settlements; new report slams city efforts to learn from those mistakes

“We are missing very expensive opportunities if we are not informing ourselves and improving practices and policies as a result of those settlements and judgments,” said Inspector General Deborah Witzburg.

Chicago Sun-Times

City must find answers for unwise policy of overworking cops

Changes announced by Chicago Police Supt. David Brown are a step in the right direction. But as long as cops are too fatigued from cancelled days off, they’re at risk of making poor snap decisions.

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Chicago Sun-Times

Mayoral challenger outlines plan to ease police staffing shortage

Paul Vallas’ plan includes waiving the residency requirement for veteran officers as well as for new officers during their 18-month probationary period. He also wants to run the training academy night and day.

Chicago Sun-Times

Day after scathing report, Chicago’s top cop announces changes aimed at giving police officers more time off

The new policy comes after the city’s watchdog reported that the police department had scheduled nearly 1,200 officers to work at least 11 straight days earlier this year.

Chicago Sun-Times

1,190 Chicago Police officers scheduled to work consecutive days off in April and May, newly appointed IG says

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg conservatively estimated that “at least 1,190” Chicago Police officers were scheduled to work at least eleven consecutive days between April 1 and May 31 of this year.

Chicago Sun-Times

Inspector general pokes holes in Chicago’s process of building inspections

In her first full-blown audit, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg takes the Department of Buildings to task for fulfilling its inspection mandate only when certificates of occupancy are required.

Chicago Sun-Times

New Inspector General’s first report offers sharp critique of police watchdog agencies

Newly appointed IG Deborah Witzburg issues her first report, finding that CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability need new standards

Chicago Sun-Times

Lightfoot not the reformer she promised to be, former inspector general says

It might sound like sour grapes from a man who was pushed out. But former Inspector General Joe Ferguson says “relative to the rhetoric of the campaign, certainly performance has not lived up to” what she promised.

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago’s new inspector general has no intention of ‘staying in her lane’

“If city officials feel warm and fuzzy about the watchdog, the watchdog is probably not entirely doing their job,” Deborah Witzburg told the Sun-Times.

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