Infrastructure Trust Allows City Watchdog Behind The Curtain

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Aug 29, 2012 4:00PM

Photo Credit: © Brooke Collins/City of Chicago

While Mayor Rahm Emanuel resisted calls to allow the city's Inspector General to monitor the $1.7 billion infrastructure trust, his appointees disagree and invited the city watchdog behind the curtain.

Emanuel's infrastructure trust hasn't exactly inspired trust (excuse the pun). It was created as a nonprofit organization, insulating it from Freedom of Information requests, and like so many items, it sailed through City Council despite a few aldermen attempting to rally against it.

However, when Emanuel appointed the board for the trust, he included former city Inspector General David Hoffman, who accepted the position by calling for transparency saying he'd learned a lesson the hard way with Mayor Richard M. Daley's parking meter deal.

The Sun-Times writes:

In its second meeting, the Trust adopted bylaws that state that all directors, officers and employees of the Trust “shall have a duty to cooperate” with the inspector general “in any investigation, audit or review undertaken” by the IG’s office.

The bylaws specifically empower the IG to investigate: the “performance of the directors and officers and employees of the Trust; any projects financed or supported by the Trust and any programs or operations” it undertakes “to detect and prevent misconduct, inefficiency and waste within the programs and operations of the Trust.”"

Journalists and the general public will still be denied access to the trust, so city watchdog Joe Ferguson will be the sole line of defense.