Luxury Gifts: Watchdog Report Exposes Dem Mayor For Allegedly Violating Ethics Ordinance

Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson allegedly violated the city’s ethics ordinance after failing to report that he accepted luxury gifts, including premium whiskey and designer accessories, according to a city watchdog audit that was released Wednesday.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg released a report that said Johnson and former Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office allegedly breached city ethics by failing to log gifts over $50 and denied covert Office of Inspector General investigators access to records at City Hall’s fifth floor, WGN TV reported. These items were reportedly stored in a secret “Gift Room” within the mayor’s personal office, away from the oversight of investigators and regulatory bodies.

Chicago’s Government Ethics Ordinance typically bars city officials from accepting gifts valued over $50 unless they are received on behalf of the city and approved in advance by the Board of Ethics. Furthermore, such gifts should be reported to both the Board of Ethics and the city comptroller for inventory purposes. An undisclosed and long-standing arrangement dating back to 1989 between the Board of Ethics and the mayor’s office, however, has circumvented these requirements.

“We did not look into practices of other administrations but that is our understanding, that this dates back to the Sawyer administration,” Witzburg said.

BREAKING: Chicago’s Inspector General just dropped a report exposing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s secret gift stash. Jewelry, whiskey, handbags, and shoes—all stored in a “Gift Room” hidden from investigators as well as Johnson’s personal office. Just as scandalous: The report reveals…