Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner sues city for $1 million after being cleared of ethics violations

Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city of Chicago, its inspector general's office, and the Board of Ethics, accusing them of defamation.

In 2023, the Chicago Board of Ethics fined Gardiner $20,000, after finding probable cause he violated the city's ethics ordinance by retaliating against a constituent who frequently criticized him.

The board backed a finding by city's inspector general's office, which determined Gardiner "directed City employees to issue unfounded citations for overgrown weeds and rodents to the home of a constituent who had been publicly critical of the alderperson."

The inspector general's report said he went ahead with plans to have the constituent cited, even after being told the plants in his yard were legal. Those citations could have cost his constituent $600, but they were ultimately thrown out by a judge.

Gardiner appealed the Board of Ethics' ruling and the board later cleared him of any wrongdoing, after an administrative law judge determined the city "failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence" that Gardiner was not liable for any ethics violations.

In a lawsuit filed on Monday, Gardiner claims the ethics case against him was an effort by the city, the Board of Ethics, and former Inspector General Deborah Witzburg "to harass, punish, and drive him out of elected office."

Gardiner's lawsuit claims Witzburg's office "withheld exculpatory evidence, and relied on demonstrably false testimony to create illegitimate probable cause charges" against him.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages.

Attorneys for the city declined to comment on the lawsuit.