CHICAGO - City Hall's money mishandling saga continues as the latest inspector general's report exposes a city clerk's office employee accused of pocketing an undisclosed six-figure amount from city sticker sales, reported the Chicago Sun-Times. Allegations also hit a contractor for funneling over $200,000 in rogue debt collection fees—marking another case of inadequate controls over Chicago's coffers.
A comprehensive probe into the sale of city stickers, which allow residents to park on city streets, revealed the worker had been skimming cash payments for seven years from May 2014 to November 2021, manipulating the city's payment system to cover up the illicit gains, and yet the employee managed to sneak under the radar for years, concealing their tracks by taking minor amounts that would be hard to catch. Inspector General Deborah Witzburg underscored the need for "tighter controls" and "more frequent audits," according to the Fox32 Chicago report.
Uncovering the scheme "before COVID," City Clerk Anna Valencia reported the misconduct to Witzburg's office. "It was very small amounts of money that she skimmed... She did it in very small amounts that would be hard to catch," Valencia told the Sun-Times. In response, her office introduced a technological fix to prevent future fraud, shifting away from outdated paper-based systems which they recognized were too prone to manipulation.
On a separate front, the inspector general’s report described a treacherous move by a debt collection contractor who improperly accessed the city's debt collection portal, assigning non-delinquent accounts to their ledger and subsequently billing the city for a 25% contingency fee—these were for water and sewer fees that had been promptly paid by customers, the financial ruse cost the city over $200,000 before action was taken to disable the contractor's access to all city systems. "City resources are precious. We can't have them misdirected for the personal benefit of individuals," said Witzburg, stressing the immediate measures taken to stop further exploitation by the said entity, highlighted in the Fox32 Chicago coverage.
While the identities of those accused remain undisclosed in line with the office's policy, the inspector general's report details the depth of the investigations undertaken, including a meticulous cross-referencing of video footage with sales and payment records which underpinned the case against the city sticker skimming employee. Meanwhile, the accused employee has resigned and faces possible criminal charges as the matter moves to prosecution. As for the dishonest contractor, their contract has been axed, and they've been barred from dabbling in any future business with the city, ensuring such misconduct doesn't find its way to repeating itself.
