CITY HALL — The City Council appears ready for reform — at least when it comes to uniting all city investigations under a single inspector general.
The Workforce Development Committee passed a proposed ordinance Monday eliminating the office of the legislative inspector general and merging all city probes into the office of Inspector General Joe Ferguson.
Aldermen stalled on the issue for months after Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan's term ended, but when it finally arrived in committee opposition evaporated except for some token complaints from Ald. Will Burns (4th).
Citing his experience on the 2011 Ethics Reform Task Force, Burns said he hoped to retain "safeguards" against anyone filing a "fraudulent complaint" against aldermen, thus "abusing the ethics process."
Burns specifically asked about the inspector general initiating his own investigations — a right denied the legislative inspector general — and whether complaints had to be sworn or simply signed. He insisted elected officials were more prone to political attacks than are hired city employees.
Yet Ald. Joe Moore (49th) countered that those safeguards were "routinely ignored" by Khan, whom he charged with launching "smear campaigns."
"You know what, I survived," Moore said. He backed the measure, adding, "It's important not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good."
"We are not to be held to any different standard from anyone else," said Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), one of the lead sponsors of the so-called merger ordinance. She pointed out that other city employees are just as prone as aldermen to having their reputations sullied by unfounded complaints.
Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), another lead sponsor, said having a sound, reliable council watchdog might actually ease public suspicions and tame "insane" commentary on EveryBlock and other social media, which he called "a really insane environment."
Pawar said that, with the anonymous postings on those media, "You have license to say whatever you want no matter how crazy it is, no matter how libelous it is."
"This may result in fewer investigations, but higher quality," said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), who suggested Khan had to justify his office's existence by pursuing any possible complaints. "I think this is a great move."
"There never should've been a separate legislative inspector general," said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd). He allowed that "it's a safe bet that there will be illegitimate complaints logged by our political opponents," but said that Ferguson had proved himself capable of winnowing out illegitimate accusations. He called the merger of the two offices "long overdue."
The proposal cleared the committee by a voice vote with no one opposed, but Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th), chairman of the committee, cautioned that it wasn't passed until the entire City Council approves it on Wednesday — if no other parliamentary moves are made to derail it.
"I expect to put it out there for discussion," O'Connor said. "I'm not making any predictions on what other people will do."
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