In a recent development that may come as a surprise to some, Chicago City Hall has made public a video of its "gift room.
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The move follows allegations by a watchdog group that Mayor Brandon Johnson has been accepting high-value gifts inappropriately.
The release of the video comes on the heels of accusations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that Mayor Johnson has been accepting and failing to report valuable gifts. These gifts reportedly include jewelry, alcohol, AirPods, designer handbags, and size 14 mens shoes, raising ethical questions about the Mayor's conduct.
In response to these allegations, the city has announced new protocols for receiving gifts. These include a written log of 18 pages detailing the items, their location, and the organization that donated the gifts currently housed in the "gift room."
The new protocol, which came into effect on Tuesday, stipulates that officials must report and properly log gifts within 10 days. Gifts must be stored in a designated area that can be viewed publicly via video recording quarterly, and excessive gifts must be donated.
According to a statement from Johnson's office, "These procedures reaffirm the Mayors commitment to ethical governance and transparency and ensure prompt disclosure of all gifts received on behalf of the City."
As reported by RedState, a 21-second video was posted on the mayors YouTube page, showcasing a small room filled with various items such as artwork, coffee mugs, shoes, baseball caps, T-shirts, awards, plaques, and books. However, the video does not provide a clear view of all items, making it difficult to identify smaller or less conspicuous items.
The video's release has raised questions about whether certain high-value items, such as Hugo Boss cufflinks, Givenchy, Gucci, and Kate Spade handbags, a personalized Mont Blanc pen, and size 14 mens shoes, are still stored in the gift room as required.
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg expressed her concerns to WTTW News, stating that the video raises more questions than answers." She said, "Im not sure there is a great deal of comfort to be taken from the video. These items belong to the city of Chicago and ought to be accessible to the public to which they belong."
Witzburg further added that a 20-second video is not a substitute for public access to public property." She also expressed deep concern that even gifts logged in the last several days lack information about the donors.
According to WTTW, Witzburg released an audit two weeks ago revealing that Johnsons office accepted pricey items on behalf of the city without properly reporting them as required. Neither Witzburg nor members of the news media, including WTTW News, have been allowed to inspect the gift room, as Witzburg said is required by city ordinance.
Witzburg explained that the concern and strong implication is that the so-called "gift room" might contain items given or received with the intention of influencing city government decisions or actions. She stated, "We can't have a for sale sign on the door to City Hall. The city's ethics rules contain these requirements on gifts, and there are very clear rules on how to handle gifts accepted on behalf of the city."
This situation raises questions about the integrity of Mayor Johnson's administration and the transparency of Chicago's city government. It remains to be seen how these allegations will be addressed and what impact they will have on the Mayor's political future.
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