The Chicago Mayor’s Office accepted hundreds of gifts, including designer handbags, jewelry, and luxury accessories, without publicly reporting them, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The OIG report revealed that, under a decades-old unwritten policy, gifts accepted on behalf of the City were recorded in a private logbook, rather than being publicly disclosed through the Board of Ethics and the City Comptroller, as required by law.
OIG officials conducted an undercover visit to City Hall and requested to see the logbook but were denied access and told to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. After submitting the request covertly, they received no timely response—effectively a denial.
After sending a formal request, the OIG finally obtained records showing that between February 2022 and March 2023, the Mayor’s Office accepted 380 gifts on behalf of the City:
- Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot logged 144 gifts.
- Current Mayor Brandon Johnson logged 236 gifts, including:
- Hugo Boss cufflinks
- Givenchy, Gucci, and Kate Spade handbags
- A personalized Mont Blanc pen
- Size 14 men’s shoes
- Some gifts were found stored in a “gift room”, while others were reportedly kept in Mayor Johnson’s personal office.
When OIG investigators attempted an unannounced inspection of the Gift Room, they were denied access.
Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg criticized the secrecy, saying:
“When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny.”
Under Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, officials are generally prohibited from accepting gifts over $50—unless the gifts are explicitly accepted “on behalf of the City.”
“It is perhaps more important than ever that Chicagoans can trust their City government, and for decades we have given people no reason at all to trust what goes on in the dark,” Witzburg said. “These gifts are, by definition, City property; if they are squirreled away and hidden from view, people are only left to assume the worst about how they are being handled. If we do not govern responsibly on the small things, we cannot ask people to trust the government on the big ones.”
The OIG recommended that the Mayor’s Office:
- Comply with public reporting requirements for gifts.
- Allow unannounced inspections of the Gift Room.
The Mayor’s Office pushed back, saying it would only allow inspections with a “properly scheduled appointment.”
The Chicago Board of Ethics supported the OIG’s call for greater transparency and will work with the Mayor’s Office to transition to a new reporting system.
