Chicago Mayor's office to list all gifts publicly online after Inspector General report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Changes are coming to the way gifts to the mayor are cataloged and stored inside Chicago's City Hall.
This comes after a report by the Chicago Office of Inspector General showed hundreds of gifts given to the Mayor's office came in without noting who gave the gifts.
A report from Inspector General Deborah Witzburg's office said Mayor Brandon Johnson's office violated a city ethics policy requiring that any gifts valued at more than $50 and "accepted on behalf of the city" be logged in a book that is publicly available on the fifth floor of City Hall.
Some of the 380 gifts were lavish. They included Hugo Boss cufflinks; Givenchy, Gucci, and Kate Spade handbags; a personalized Mont Blanc pen; a 2003 U.S. National Soccer Team jersey; size 14 Carrucci men's shoes; and even whiskey—as being stored in a "Gift Room," and others in the Mayor's personal office in City Hall.
The Mayor's legal counsel told reporters Tuesday that all gifts will soon be publicly noted online, and that all gifts will come with details of who gave them.
Meanwhile, Mayor Johnson made the point Tuesday that there is a difference between gifts that are received and gifts that are accepted.
"It was Mayor [Eugene] Sawyer who put together a practice to log the gifts that are received and not accepted. The fact that you actually know what's in the room gives you some indication that I'm clearly not accepting them."
The Johnson team plans on releasing a video of the so-called "gift room" inside City Hall, to which the OIG said it was denied access.