Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday continued to resist calls to release the inspector general’s report on the October incident that led her to fire police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
“We should always be working to establish legitimacy and rebuild trust with the public around our processes,” first-term Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, said. “Not releasing results of high-profile investigations leaves one wondering what we’re hiding.”
Lightfoot’s administration earlier this week released dashcam video and other records from the night Johnson was found asleep at the wheel in a South Side intersection.
But Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s report on the matter remains sealed, despite pressure from several corners to have it made public and the mayor’s earlier push to get the City Council to approve a law allowing certain IG reports of high public interest to be released.
David Melton, a senior adviser at watchdog group Reform for Illinois where Lightfoot was previously a board member, said “it’s a matter of credibility when you’re dealing with such a high-profile situation to feel people get equal treatment of the law regardless of their position.”
“That’s an important principle. I know the mayor understands and appreciates it. I know she acted decisively at the time and my inclination, if it was up to me, my inclination would be to be as open as possible and take whatever lumps are associated with that,” Melton said.
The ordinance backed by the mayor last fall would have allowed the corporation counsel to decide whether to release IG investigation reports in cases that involve a death or that are “or may be” a felony, and are “of a compelling public interest.”
Kathleen Fieweger, the Law Department’s spokeswoman, defended withholding the report on Johnson, disputing that there was any conduct rising to a felony.
Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, said the decision not to release the IG report sounds right to her.
“That law was hard enough to pass, in terms of protecting the rights of the accused. It was meant for serious felonies, and I think it’s appropriate to uphold that standard,” Smith said.
First-term Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said he isn’t sure whether the report legally fits the standard for release but argued the city owes taxpayers more information on the incident.
“I think additional context is appropriate and that may not include releasing the report but providing some summary of, ‘this is what occurred.’ and the requisite level of detail that gives a reasonable person confidence that a felony did not occur and that releasing the report pursuant to the ordinance is not required,” he said.
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Lightfoot’s surprise mayoral victory was largely built on a promise to boost transparency and reform City Hall. Her ordinance allowing IG reports to be published has already led to some tension between the mayor and Ferguson, a friend and former colleague in the U.S. attorney’s office.
In October 2019, Lightfoot’s administration released Ferguson’s investigation into the alleged cover-up of Laquan McDonald’s murder, but with a wrinkle. Top city lawyer Mark Flessner, himself a former federal prosecutor, released a letter alongside Ferguson’s report essentially saying that the city wouldn’t vouch for the report’s accuracy.
That same day, Oct. 9, records show Ferguson emailed Lightfoot chief of staff Maurice Classen and another city lawyer to complain, calling the corporation counsel’s letter “corporate lawyer ass-covering horse—-.”
Classen sent a response, saying he “wanted to share how disturbing I find this content,” and copied Lightfoot.
Ferguson’s office did not return messages seeking comment on the city’s decision not to release the report on Johnson.
