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CHICAGO — After serving as the city’s chief ethics officer for four years, Deborah Witzburg is set to resign from her role at the Office of the Inspector General by the end of the week.
In an exclusive interview with the I-Team, Witzburg reflected on her challenging tenure. She emphasized that despite the difficulties, the mission of promoting transparency and accountability in government remains crucial.
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Witzburg’s relationship with city officials has often been contentious, particularly following an audit that revealed the acceptance of extravagant gifts by city personnel.
In response to the audit, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson remarked in January 2025, “The way this report was portrayed is misleading.”
Witzburg explained that the public’s interest in the story was less about the cufflinks and engraved pens themselves and more about the obstruction faced by Office of the Inspector General investigators, who were unlawfully barred from entering a room at City Hall.
The outgoing OIG recounted that splashy investigation into Johnson’s receipt of gifts after a scathing report from her office on lavish, undocumented items given to the mayor.
“We found out later that that room, the actual room, which was displayed to the public, wasn’t even built until after we tried to inspect it,” Witzburg said.
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During her tenure, she criticized the mayor for not firing an aide accused of extorting an alderperson for a vote. She also tore into the law department for refusing to provide records they were legally required to, excoriated the Chicago Police Department for spotty record keeping on discipline levied against officers, and the list goes on. It all circles around a singular point Witzburg underscored, which is, “What is allowed to go on in city government when no one is watching?”
She said she had good working relationships with other city departments and individuals, and despite a series of rebukes of how city hall conducts public business, Witzburg told the I-Team she was not forced out and only reached out directly to Johnson on three occasions in the last four years. She said she never got a response.
“He and I have not had a lot of direct, personal, individual interactions. I haven’t heard back from him. The decision not to seek reappointment to a second term was mine and mine alone,” she insisted.
After Witzburg said her office faced major roadblocks from the city she worked to change the law, and working with Ald. Matt Martin, the chair of the Ethics Committee, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to give the OIG more power to conduct interviews with city employees without city attorneys present and collect relevant records to substantiate claims.
“When you have an inspector general’s office investigating alleged misconduct, especially involving elected officials or senior members of our team, they need to have access to as much information as it exists to get to the bottom of things,” he stated.
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Witzburg also criticized former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who appointed her, finding in 2023 Lightfoot violated the city’s ethics laws by sending campaign emails to city employees asking for contributions. The Chicago Board of Ethics later dismissed those findings.
“If a mayor felt entirely warm and fuzzy about their about their inspector general, then we probably wouldn’t be doing our job,” said Witzburg, who would only reveal this about her future: “It has always been my intention to spend a career in public service. That continues to be, that continues to be my plan.”
The OIG is poised to release another report Tuesday as Witzburg said she is running through the finish line.
The mayor’s office told the I-Team Johnson is committed to good governance and public transparency, but said the administration is concerned Witzburg politicized the office and compromised its credibility.
“Mayor Johnson is committed to good governance and public transparency. At the same time, the administration has been concerned by the current Inspector General’s record of politicizing the office’s authority in a manner that has compromised the credibility and independence of the OIG, which must remain grounded in facts, fairness, and the public trust. We look forward to working in good faith with whomever is selected as the next Inspector General while ensuring governance is carried out faithfully and in the interest of Chicagoans,” the mayor’s office said.
Martin said the search for Witzburg’s replacement is already underway and could be decided by next month.
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