Government belongs to the governed

Transparency in government is a cornerstone of a robust democracy and underscores a core belief at the Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG): that information about how the government works belongs to the governed. Promoting transparency in City government is a fundamental plank in OIG’s mission; we are working to shine light into the windowless rooms in City government. Where the City of Chicago operates at a deficit of legitimacy with its residents—and one long in the making—we can ill afford to govern behind closed doors. After generations of misconduct and mistrust in City government, Chicagoans have little reason to afford the benefit of the doubt to government operations that they cannot see. For this reason, we prioritize transparency work in an effort to pay down that deficit of legitimacy. ?

We do our oversight work, essentially, in three channels. The first of those channels is investigating misconduct; we conduct administrative and criminal investigations when City actors are accused of wrongdoing. The second surrounds our program and policy work, where we examine whether the programs and operations of City government are working as effectively, efficiently, and equitably as they should.

The third channel of work is our transparency initiatives: work built to promote transparency for transparency’s sake, wherein we make reliable, high-quality information about City government meaningfully accessible to the public.

OIG’s transparency initiatives come in a number of different forms; written reports in this vein have included, for example, so-called “explainers”—descriptive reports—on the Chicago Police Department’s Budget and Understanding the City’s Response to Sewer Cave-in Complaints.

Our transparency mandate also comes to life in OIG’s Information Portal, where more than 40 public-facing data dashboards allow users to visualize and analyze clear and reliable information about City government.

In May, a new entry joined the cadre of dashboards on City budget, City employees, and public safety. Under a new “Transparent City” category of dashboards, the City Services by Address dashboard is a one-stop shop to see City services and service area designations as they apply to any Chicago address. Users can input an address, and the dashboard retrieves valuable information related to that location, including ward, community area, zoning information, schedules for City services, and more. We will continue to add information related to services under our jurisdiction. Library locations and links to Ward offices have been added since the launch of the dashboard.

On July 2, we launched the Socioeconomic and City Data Comparison Dashboard. This dashboard contains a repository of U.S. Census data, such as population, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators, presented across City of Chicago Wards, Community Areas, and Chicago police districts/beats to provide a view into how City programs and services and their outcomes impact people across Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Chicago is very much a city of neighborhoods. Challenges faced by, and services provided to residents look very different on some blocks than others. OIG recognizes that misconduct, waste, and corruption impact Chicagoans differently based on racial, geographic, and other demographic factors and that fraud, waste, and corruption can compound existing inequities.

Our new dashboard is unique in offering the ability to compare U.S. Census data to City data in one dashboard. Side-by-side maps allow users to visualize and compare the distribution of City services and programs, such as 911 calls and Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIF), to U.S. Census data, such as race, household income, education level, or other factors. The dashboard offers the ability to analyze Chicago’s demographic and socioeconomic landscape, integrating an array of verified data to shed light on the intersection of the City’s population, socioeconomic conditions, and City service delivery metrics by ward and neighborhood.

We hope that this new tool will be useful to stakeholders across Chicago as we work to allocate City resources to areas of greatest need.

Respectfully,

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg