Housing Grades
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2007 Grade
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2007 Grade Prediction
for the Future
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2010 Grade |
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F
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D -
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D +
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This section received a better grade primarily because of the significant and positive work of the Inspector General’s Office (IGO) to tackle and curb corruption. More specifically, former Inspector General David Hoffman exposed under-working sanitation crews, forced out a top mayoral aide who lied about hiring abuses, and reported that the city made far less money than it should have in the privatization of parking meters. With Hoffman’s resignation from the IG post in October 2009, there is much hope that his successor, Joe Ferguson, will continue to expose corruption in city government with the same depth and intensity as his predecessor.
That being said, the truck scandal that was made public after DGAP released its grades in 2007 is a cause for concern that perhaps there are levels of corruption within the city government that are still undiscovered and unexposed.
Recommendations:
- Support an ordinance that covers the scope of the Shakman Decree and that extends the Chicago Inspector General’s jurisdiction to the City Council.
- Ensure the transparency and accountability of all city budgets by providing the public with accessible information on funding one month before budgets are voted on by City Council.
- Limit campaign contributions to $1500 in any given election year.
- Ensure the transparency and accountability of all future sales of public assets by providing third-party evaluation of privatization lease deals, lease deals that are no longer than 30 years, public hearings on all proposals, and 30 days for the city council to review proposals before voting on them.