Former Business Affairs and Consumer Protection official accused of creating hostile work environment

A former high-ranking official at the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection accused of creating a hostile work environment by using “prolonged verbal abuse and discrimination” to underlings so shaken by the treatment, many of them quit, then lied to investigators when questioned about it.

A Chicago Public library clerk who used access to personal information to sexually harass library patrons on social media.

A Law Department contractor that used its access to the city’s computerized files of outstanding debt to collect $489,000 in fees on nondelinquent accounts.

Those are among the highlights of Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s third-quarter report.

Witzburg's report also includes three more city employees accused of fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loans and another allegation of police abuse during the civil unrest that erupted after the death of George Floyd.

As always, the report doesn’t include names of the accused employees or companies — just synopses of all 20 cases concluded during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30.

The Business Affairs investigation is intriguing because the high-ranking employee who was targeted also is accused of lying to investigators to cover up the abuse.

That now-former boss "frequently yelled at, disrespected and belittled” subordinates while using “vulgar and discriminatory language in front of and directed at the employees” and “commenting on employees’ actual or perceived ethnicities," the report states.

“In at least one instance, the official told an employee that they would not be considered for a promotion due to their actual or perceived ethnicity not being what the official wanted for the position,” Witzburg told the Sun-Times, quoting her report verbatim.

“The official’s behavior created an uncomfortable office environment and caused numerous members of the ... department to look for employment elsewhere. Furthermore, during the course of OIG’s investigation, the official provided multiple false and inaccurate statements to investigators.”

The report goes on to say that the accused “retired during the course of the investigation.” The mayor’s office failed to respond to Witzburg's office, either by the initial 30-day deadline or during a 30-day extension, but has since agreed to place the official on the city’s “Do Not Hire” list.

The library clerk accused of sexually harassing library patrons was also placed on the “Do Not Hire” list after being fired by the city. The same fate awaits a parking enforcement aide accused of lying to investigators after being captured on video using “aggressive and hostile behavior” to provoke an “unjustified physical altercation” with a group of juveniles before punching one of them.

By far the most costly scheme outlined in the report centers on the contractor accused of using access to the city’s debt collection portal to “assign itself … utility debt” when no money was owed on those up-to-date accounts or the debt was not yet “ripe for collection.” That contractor's agreement with the city has since been terminated. Witzburg has recommended the company be disbarred.

“Through this scheme, the contractor was able to assign accounts to themselves in order to claim a 25% alleged collection fee on a customer’s routine on-time payments. The accounts the contractor improperly assigned to itself included several high-profile properties whose utility bills were regularly paid on time. As a result of the contractor’s conduct, it received up to $489,000 in improper contingency fee payments from the City,” the report states.

The case stemming from the Floyd protests involved a police sergeant, since promoted to lieutenant, is accused of using his baton to strike a protester in the lower back even though that person "posed no apparent threat to the sergeant or others.”

The deputy chief, who retired during the course of the investigation, then “improperly grabbed the same protester while they were on the ground and sprayed them directly in the face” with pepper spray. The sergeant was slapped with a three-day suspension and assigned to “additional use-of-force training.” The incident occurred during protests that erupted after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

Also in the report:

• Three more cases of fraud involving the federal Paycheck Protection Program instituted to keep businesses afloat during the pandemic.

• A general foreman of electrical mechanics targeted for firing for “allowing unqualified workers to perform electrical work under permits they pulled using the general foreman’s supervising electrician’s license, then failing to supervise” work done by others “under permits pulled using that same license.” The general foreman was further accused of engaging in unauthorized secondary employment.” Another supervising foreman in the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management was accused of “impermissibly” performing electrical work and using a city vehicle to “travel to their home to be present for inspections without permission.”

• An assistant commissioner in the Department of Streets and Sanitation accused of supervising his sister-in-law over a six-year period, in violation of city ethics rules. During that period, the assistant commissioner approved and signed off on nondiscretionary pay hikes, vacation and sick leave requests. The conflict continued until the sister-in-law filed for divorce.

• A former employee of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability who “failed to disclose their disciplinary history from a prior employer.” Also, during a public forum, that employee “made an unauthorized disclosure of information" about "an open and high-profile” COPA investigation.