As yet another Chicago alderman admitted to being a crook, Mayor Richard Daley dusted off a 20-year-old idea on Monday and proposed giving the city’s inspector general the power to investigate City Council members.
When Daley created the inspector general’s office in 1989, aldermen overwhelmingly voted to exclude themselves from being investigated by the new office. The inspector general can investigate any part of city government, aldermen said, except aldermen.
Daley said Monday he decided to act now after his council ally, Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to accepting bribes for aiding a developer, becoming the 29th alderman convicted of crimes since 1972.
“I think after the Carothers issue, people are losing confidence in government,” Daley said. “It broke the camel’s back.”
Full story: Daley proposes giving inspector general power to investigate City Council – chicagotribune.com