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THE CHICAGO GOSSIP
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THE CHICAGO GOSSIP
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Kathy PosnerLast November I wrote a blog about how the Chicago City Council had finally hired a Chicago Legislative Inspector General, 18 months after the ordinance to create the job was passed. Because the current Chicago Inspector General (IG) is banned by ordinance to investigate Aldermen, a new office had to be created just for the purpose of investigating allegations of misconduct by Aldermen, Aldermanic staff or members of the City Council. Selected for the job was Faisal Khan, a former New York City attorney who had been Inspector General at New York City Department of Investigation. I wondered what has happened to him since last November when a friend recently asked me if I knew how to reach Khan.
Remember that the Chicago City Council only appropriated $60,000 to run the office. Alderman Joe Moore (D-49) said at the time that the part-time salary and no staff authorized for the new inspector general in the 2012 budget supports his claim that Khan will “end up being window dressing.” He also said, “I don’t know the man. I will assume he’s a man of utmost integrity. But it doesn’t matter how much integrity and independence you have. If you don’t have the tools to do the job, then you are going to be ineffective. And it does not appear he’s been given the tools to do the job.”
There has not been a single story in the news about Kahn in the last six months. That made me wonder, "Is he doing his job?"
I went to the City of Chicago web site and looked for his office. It does not exist. I went to the city employee directory and he is not listed. I called the city information hot line at 311 and asked how I could reach Faisal Khan. The operator did not know who he was. I told her he was the Legislative Inspector General. She said she did not have any listing for that office.
What if I wanted to report misconduct? I could not find him through official City of Chicago channels, so I went to Google. I found Khan’s LinkedIn listing I know I found the correct Khan because this is what was written:
“Legislative Inspector General"
City of Chicago
Government Agency; 10,001+ employees; Government Administration industry
November 2011 – Present (6 months) Chicago
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Creation of the first Office of the Legislative Inspector General for the city of Chicago; Investigating allegations of, but not limited to, fraudulent, corrupt or criminal activity, conflicts of interest, unethical conduct, misconduct, and incompetence of City of Chicago Aldermen and employees of the Chicago city council; Work in conjunction with the United States Department of Justice and other federal and state investigative agencies in furtherance of OLIG investigations and prosecutions; Determine and designate appropriate resources and techniques towards initiation of investigative matters, as well as develop rules, regulations, and guidelines for investigative practices; Formally disclose, report, and issue various extensive reports delineating outcomes of investigations, audits, evaluations and inspections to all relevant parties; Conduct extensive legal research of federal, state, and local criminal, civil, and administrative codes and laws for compliance purposes. “
He certainly has a lot of responsibilities for a part time employee with no staff and no office in City Hall!
I finally found out how to reach Khan from a posting he had put up on EveryBlock.com in February in response to a comment someone had made about Chicago being such a corrupt city.
“Hello -
I am the Legislative Inspector General for the City of Chicago. The Office of the Legislative Inspector General is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct by Aldermen, Alderman staff, and/or members of City Council.
If you have any complaints or allegations of impropriety against any Alderman and/or their staff, please contact me at my office. Since this Office has only recently been created, we are still in the process of making ourselves readily available to members of the public. However, the complaint process is up and running, and as such, I can be reached at faisal.khan@cityofchicago.org. The office hotline number is (312) 744-2312.
If there is anything I can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please also feel free to forward this contact information to anyone. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Since 1972, when there was no Inspector General investigating City Council, 29 current and former Chicago aldermen have been sentenced to jail. No wonder no permanent office has been set up for him and he is not listed in the Chicago employee directory, it is obvious Aldermen don’t want people to be able to easily find him.
But now you know how, just in case.
Read more from Planet Posner HERE.....
Editors Note: We wonder if Kathy Posner called the number she found or does it even work?
Remember that the Chicago City Council only appropriated $60,000 to run the office. Alderman Joe Moore (D-49) said at the time that the part-time salary and no staff authorized for the new inspector general in the 2012 budget supports his claim that Khan will “end up being window dressing.” He also said, “I don’t know the man. I will assume he’s a man of utmost integrity. But it doesn’t matter how much integrity and independence you have. If you don’t have the tools to do the job, then you are going to be ineffective. And it does not appear he’s been given the tools to do the job.”
There has not been a single story in the news about Kahn in the last six months. That made me wonder, "Is he doing his job?"
I went to the City of Chicago web site and looked for his office. It does not exist. I went to the city employee directory and he is not listed. I called the city information hot line at 311 and asked how I could reach Faisal Khan. The operator did not know who he was. I told her he was the Legislative Inspector General. She said she did not have any listing for that office.
What if I wanted to report misconduct? I could not find him through official City of Chicago channels, so I went to Google. I found Khan’s LinkedIn listing I know I found the correct Khan because this is what was written:
“Legislative Inspector General"
City of Chicago
Government Agency; 10,001+ employees; Government Administration industry
November 2011 – Present (6 months) Chicago
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Creation of the first Office of the Legislative Inspector General for the city of Chicago; Investigating allegations of, but not limited to, fraudulent, corrupt or criminal activity, conflicts of interest, unethical conduct, misconduct, and incompetence of City of Chicago Aldermen and employees of the Chicago city council; Work in conjunction with the United States Department of Justice and other federal and state investigative agencies in furtherance of OLIG investigations and prosecutions; Determine and designate appropriate resources and techniques towards initiation of investigative matters, as well as develop rules, regulations, and guidelines for investigative practices; Formally disclose, report, and issue various extensive reports delineating outcomes of investigations, audits, evaluations and inspections to all relevant parties; Conduct extensive legal research of federal, state, and local criminal, civil, and administrative codes and laws for compliance purposes. “
He certainly has a lot of responsibilities for a part time employee with no staff and no office in City Hall!
I finally found out how to reach Khan from a posting he had put up on EveryBlock.com in February in response to a comment someone had made about Chicago being such a corrupt city.
“Hello -
I am the Legislative Inspector General for the City of Chicago. The Office of the Legislative Inspector General is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct by Aldermen, Alderman staff, and/or members of City Council.
If you have any complaints or allegations of impropriety against any Alderman and/or their staff, please contact me at my office. Since this Office has only recently been created, we are still in the process of making ourselves readily available to members of the public. However, the complaint process is up and running, and as such, I can be reached at faisal.khan@cityofchicago.org. The office hotline number is (312) 744-2312.
If there is anything I can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please also feel free to forward this contact information to anyone. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Since 1972, when there was no Inspector General investigating City Council, 29 current and former Chicago aldermen have been sentenced to jail. No wonder no permanent office has been set up for him and he is not listed in the Chicago employee directory, it is obvious Aldermen don’t want people to be able to easily find him.
But now you know how, just in case.
Read more from Planet Posner HERE.....
Editors Note: We wonder if Kathy Posner called the number she found or does it even work?
