CITY HALL — The City of Chicago has employed at least eight registered sex offenders since 2003 — and at least one was assigned to work in a location near children, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson said Monday,
The city "lacks an adequate system to ensure" that registered sex offenders are not assigned to work" in or near a school building, public park, school bus stop, or playground where there are children present," Ferguson said in his quarterly report released Monday.
The investigation by the city's watchdog found that in at least one case, an employee who was a registered sex offender was directed to work in an area he or she was prohibited from entering. The employee's supervisors were not aware of the employee's status, even though it was properly disclosed and noted in the employee's record, according to his report.
In response to Ferguson's findings, the city agreed to institute new procedures and policies to prevent from employees on the sex offender registry from being assigned to work in an inappropriate place. In addition, any city employee who is a registered sex offender will be required to disclose this status to the city and to update that disclosure annually, according to the report.
