BREAKING: Chicago’s Inspector General just dropped a report exposing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s secret gift stash. Jewelry, whiskey, handbags, and shoes—all stored in a “Gift Room” hidden from investigators as well as Johnson’s personal office. Just as scandalous: The report reveals a system with no real checks on the power of the mayor’s office. 🧵
2/ Chicago’s Government Ethics Ordinance (GEO) prohibits city officials, including the mayor, from accepting gifts over $50. One exception is that officials may take gifts that are “accepted on behalf of the City.” These gifts are supposed to be approved in advance by the Board of Ethics, then promptly reported to the Board of Ethics and city comptroller after they are received. The comptroller is then supposed to add these gifts to the city’s inventory. But that’s not what’s happening.
3/ Instead, under an “unwritten arrangement” between the Board of Ethics and the Mayor’s Office that has been in place since 1989, the mayor can completely disregard the law. Under this arrangement, the mayor’s office simply makes a publicly available log book of the gifts they receive, which is kept on the fifth floor of City Hall. No prior approval of gifts. No reporting to the Board of Ethics. And no reporting to the city comptroller to put these gifts in the city inventory. According to the Board of Ethics, this informal arrangement is communicated to mayoral staff during ethics trainings. And the Board does not disclose this policy on their website. This is insane.
4/ So the Office of Inspector General went undercover last June to test access to this “public” log of mayoral gifts. An investigator showed up at City Hall posing as a member of the public and asked to see it. But the mayor’s staff denied the request and directed them to file a FOIA instead. At this point not only was the mayor’s office violating the plain text of the ethics ordinance, but they were also violating the informal, unwritten arrangement put in place to subvert that ordinance.
5/ So the IG filed a FOIA request for the mayoral gift list—again without revealing their identity. The Mayor’s Office didn’t respond. At all. Only when the IG issued a formal request was the log finally produced.
6/ And here’s what they found in the secret log. Hundreds of luxury gifts, including ⬇️
🚩 Hugo Boss cuff links
🚩 Personalized Mont Blanc pen
🚩 Gucci Tote bag and crossbody bag
🚩 Givenchy Bag
🚩 Kate Spade Red Purse
🚩 Carrucci Size 14 Burgundy Men’s Shoes
Notably absent from the list was any record of gifted travel, entertainment, or meals.
🚩 Hugo Boss cuff links
🚩 Personalized Mont Blanc pen
🚩 Gucci Tote bag and crossbody bag
🚩 Givenchy Bag
🚩 Kate Spade Red Purse
🚩 Carrucci Size 14 Burgundy Men’s Shoes
Notably absent from the list was any record of gifted travel, entertainment, or meals.
7/ Where were these gifts stored?
The log showed some were in a mysterious “Gift Room.” Others? In the mayor’s private office.
One entry reads: “Bottle of Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey”—location: Room 507 (the Mayor’s Office).
The log showed some were in a mysterious “Gift Room.” Others? In the mayor’s private office.
One entry reads: “Bottle of Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey”—location: Room 507 (the Mayor’s Office).
8/ The IG then tried to inspect the Gift Room. They showed up at City Hall unannounced.
The Mayor’s Office refused, bringing in the city’s Department of Law to block access.
A critical flaw in Chicago’s governance structure is on display here. The Law Department working purely on behalf of the mayor. Not the public.
Just read this infuriating passage ⬇️
“Following that denial, OIG engaged in further conversations with the Department of Law (DOL) regarding access to the gift room. Ultimately, DOL—apparently representing the mayor in opposition to the OIG—communicated that OIG would not be granted access to the Gift Room. OIG was therefore unable to inspect the manner in which gifts are stored in the Gift Room as stated in the gift log, or to review controls around access to the gift room.”
The Mayor’s Office refused, bringing in the city’s Department of Law to block access.
A critical flaw in Chicago’s governance structure is on display here. The Law Department working purely on behalf of the mayor. Not the public.
Just read this infuriating passage ⬇️
“Following that denial, OIG engaged in further conversations with the Department of Law (DOL) regarding access to the gift room. Ultimately, DOL—apparently representing the mayor in opposition to the OIG—communicated that OIG would not be granted access to the Gift Room. OIG was therefore unable to inspect the manner in which gifts are stored in the Gift Room as stated in the gift log, or to review controls around access to the gift room.”
9/ Remember that Chicago requires all city agencies to cooperate with the IG. City ordinance specifically states:
“Each department’s premises, equipment, personnel, books, records and papers shall be made available as soon as practicable to the inspector general.”
Instead of complying, the Mayor’s Office doubled down. The city’s lawyers persisted in denying the IG physical access to the Gift Room.
After months of stonewalling, the Mayor’s Office finally responded:
Yes, they’ll allow inspections—but only by appointment.
What?
“Each department’s premises, equipment, personnel, books, records and papers shall be made available as soon as practicable to the inspector general.”
Instead of complying, the Mayor’s Office doubled down. The city’s lawyers persisted in denying the IG physical access to the Gift Room.
After months of stonewalling, the Mayor’s Office finally responded:
Yes, they’ll allow inspections—but only by appointment.
What?
10/ The IG sums up the scandal perfectly ⬇️
“When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny of the propriety of such gifts, the identities and intentions of the gift-givers, or what it means for gifts like whiskey, jewelry, handbags, and size 14 men’s shoes to be accepted ‘on behalf of the City.’”
“When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny of the propriety of such gifts, the identities and intentions of the gift-givers, or what it means for gifts like whiskey, jewelry, handbags, and size 14 men’s shoes to be accepted ‘on behalf of the City.’”
11/ But here’s the bigger picture. This story is about so much more than just Johnson and these gifts.
This entire episode—the unwritten arrangement, the secret logs, the stonewalling from city lawyers—isn’t a fluke. It’s how Chicago operates.
In any other major city, ethics rules like this would be written into a city charter—a foundational document that defines how government operates. And at the very least, the mayor’s office couldn’t ignore the law or the authority of the inspector general’s office. Because like the federal and state constitution, residents have standing to sue to force compliance with the charter.
But Chicago is the only major U.S. city without a charter.
Instead, we get handshake deals and hidden loopholes—like a mayoral gift log buried in a back room instead of publicly disclosed. And the law department serving the mayor—not the public.
Without a city charter, Chicago government operates on an endless cycle of unwritten traditions, backroom deals, and “this is how we’ve always done it” excuses.
There are no real checks and balances that only a charter can provide, as @gilbert36ward said beautifully about the city budgeting process last year on the floor of City Council.
A city charter would codify transparency rules. It would limit executive overreach. It would force accountability—instead of letting mayors and their lawyers write their own rules.
The OIG report is clear: the Mayor’s Office ignored the law for decades. But the real question isn’t just about who accepted which gift for what purpose—it’s about why our system of government ever allowed this to be hidden in the first place.
Of course, in a city where trust in government is already at rock bottom, a secret gift room in City Hall isn’t helping.
But it’s time for Chicago to demand more. Real structural change. A city charter. Now,
This entire episode—the unwritten arrangement, the secret logs, the stonewalling from city lawyers—isn’t a fluke. It’s how Chicago operates.
In any other major city, ethics rules like this would be written into a city charter—a foundational document that defines how government operates. And at the very least, the mayor’s office couldn’t ignore the law or the authority of the inspector general’s office. Because like the federal and state constitution, residents have standing to sue to force compliance with the charter.
But Chicago is the only major U.S. city without a charter.
Instead, we get handshake deals and hidden loopholes—like a mayoral gift log buried in a back room instead of publicly disclosed. And the law department serving the mayor—not the public.
Without a city charter, Chicago government operates on an endless cycle of unwritten traditions, backroom deals, and “this is how we’ve always done it” excuses.
There are no real checks and balances that only a charter can provide, as @gilbert36ward said beautifully about the city budgeting process last year on the floor of City Council.
A city charter would codify transparency rules. It would limit executive overreach. It would force accountability—instead of letting mayors and their lawyers write their own rules.
The OIG report is clear: the Mayor’s Office ignored the law for decades. But the real question isn’t just about who accepted which gift for what purpose—it’s about why our system of government ever allowed this to be hidden in the first place.
Of course, in a city where trust in government is already at rock bottom, a secret gift room in City Hall isn’t helping.
But it’s time for Chicago to demand more. Real structural change. A city charter. Now,
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