{"id":73587,"date":"2025-07-18T20:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T20:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/73587\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T20:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T20:46:12","slug":"chicago-inspector-general-drops-second-term-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/73587\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago inspector general drops second term push"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, who has regularly butted heads with Mayor Brandon Johnson in recent months, will not seek appointment to a second term, her office announced Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Witzburg had previously said she was pursuing another four-year term, teeing up a tough choice for Johnson, who would have had to make a decision on her future by late October.<\/p>\n

But she backed off the push late Thursday after successfully supporting ethics reforms<\/a> aimed at City Hall\u2019s mayor-controlled top attorney earlier in the week. In a statement, she likened the work of the Office of the Inspector General to \u201cneither a sprint nor a marathon\u201d but \u201ca relay race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our responsibility to run as hard as we can while it is our turn, and then pass the baton having gained as much ground as possible,\u201d Witzburg wrote.<\/p>\n

After being appointed to the post by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Witzburg pushed for and won term limits for the office she held. Future Chicago inspectors general \u2014 including the pick Johnson will now have to make \u2014 will be limited to two four-year terms.<\/p>\n

Witzburg has sparred with Johnson regularly in the last year, showing a willingness to push for ethics reforms he opposes or move ahead on investigations that politically embarrass him.<\/p>\n

Johnson was highly critical of the investigation she conducted into his administration\u2019s gift-logging practices<\/a> and \u201cgift room.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the two engaged in a monthslong fight over the new rules Witzburg supported affecting his Law Department before reaching a compromise this week that passed in the City Council.<\/p>\n

It was after that vote Wednesday when Witzburg realized she wanted to call it quits, she told the Tribune Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will have done what I came here to do, and that\u2019s a good place to be,\u201d she said. \u201cBuilding and strengthening this office should be about this office, not any one of us in this chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witzburg said she and the mayor had not discussed her future. She said she intends to work in public service when her term ends in April, but does not yet have specific plans.<\/p>\n

Asked if that meant elected office, she said Chicago law prohibits inspectors general from being elected to office for two years after their term ends, calling the rule \u201ca good principle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that she felt it was better to make the decision now and give Johnson more time to fill the seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t 3D chess here. I mean what I\u2019ve said,\u201d Witzburg said.<\/p>\n

The decision is an about-face from Witzburg, who has repeatedly told the Tribune she wanted Johnson to appoint her to a second four-year term, as recently as Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to serve a second term. I believe in the work that the office is doing,\u201d she said Monday. \u201cWe are paying down the deficit of legitimacy at which the city operates.\u201d<\/p>\n

She even suggested that any decision by Johnson to not reappoint her would have not been a reflection upon her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a decision made on the merits of the work we have done would allow me to continue to serve in the job,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I hope happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witzburg\u2019s successor will be selected by a process not entirely controlled by Johnson. The mayor appoints a selection committee to choose from 20 candidates picked by a search firm, per city law.<\/p>\n

The committee can recommend one or more candidates, though the mayor has the option to reject candidates. Once the mayor agrees to a committee-recommended candidate, the City Council then holds an up-or-down vote on the pick.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: July 18, 2025 at 1:15 PM CDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, who has regularly butted heads with Mayor Brandon Johnson in recent months, will…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":73588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5404,5386,1818,1370,728,50,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-73587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-cook-county","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-politics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114876198647314050","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}