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New records obtained by Chicago’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed on Tuesday the “gift room” showcased by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office in February was constructed only after investigators were blocked from inspecting gifts already received, raising fresh questions about where the city property — including cufflinks, designer handbags and men’s shoes — was being stored prior to the watchdog’s query.
OIG investigators were twice denied entry to city premises for unannounced inspections meant to expose potential misconduct behind closed doors, despite Chicago’s municipal code requiring that “[e]ach department’s premises, equipment, personnel, books, records, and papers shall be made available as soon as practicable to the inspector general.”
The first time investigators were turned away was during an unannounced inspection of Johnson’s “gift room” prompted by accusations by the OIG that Johnson accepted valuable gifts and failed to report them.
After an advisory from the OIG, the mayor’s office posted a 21-second video of the room to Johnson’s YouTube page and announced new rules concerning gifts accepted by the mayor “on behalf of the city.”
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Photos of the “gift room” show various items given to the mayor’s office. (City of Chicago)
Johnson’s office also noted the gift room would be opened to members of the press and the public.
City records reveal, however, the gift room shown in the YouTube video was not constructed until February — after the OIG attempted to conduct an unannounced inspection of gifts received by the mayor’s office.
Since investigators were denied access to city premises during their original inspection attempt, the OIG said it was unable to independently confirm whether and where city property was being stored prior to the construction of the new gift room.
It is unclear if, and where, gifts were stored prior to the room’s creation. (City of Chicago)
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The second thwarted unannounced inspection attempt happened in July, as the OIG tried to search a city office for items that investigators believed were being stored there in violation of city policy.
A city attorney allegedly told a city employee using that office to not admit investigators during the OIG’s initial visit.
Several weeks later, the OIG inspected the office with the city’s Department of Law present and confirmed the items were in the office, prompting the OIG to underscore the necessity and appropriateness of the inspection.
Several items inventoried by the mayor’s office were not visible in videos of the room. (City of Chicago)
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“Obstruction of OIG’s attempt to conduct an unannounced inspection precluded the immediate gathering of complete and reliable evidence of then-current conditions bearing directly upon the alleged violation of city policy,” the OIG wrote in a news release.
The mayor’s office allegedly declined to implement OIG’s recommendation, citing a provision of the OIG’s rules that governs investigative interviews but is unrelated to premise inspections and described “evolving interpretations of the City’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance.”
“Time and time again, we have observed that the City of Chicago operates at a deficit of legitimacy with its residents. For generations, government in this City has given people every reason to mistrust things that happen behind closed doors in City Hall,” Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg wrote in a statement. “The Mayor’s Office has taken the position here that it must open those doors to oversight only when it suits them to do so, and that position does little to chip away at mistrust or to pay down the deficit of legitimacy.”
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Witzburg added unannounced inspections are an important tool in oversight work, allowing for unmanipulated assessment of practices, behaviors and conditions.
The OIG released an advisory with recommendations that the mayor’s office take appropriate steps to ensure that city premises are made available to the inspector general, as required by law, including issuing guidance to city departments to clarify the OIG’s legal authority to access city premises.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.