by Amanda Griffin-Johnson A clout hiring scandal in Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) has led to a five-day, unpaid suspension for an engineering technician and the resignation of a Deputy Commissioner. The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Jim Bolster was slapped with the five-day suspension “for assisting” his boss, former Deputy Commissioner Gilberto Quinones, in Quinones’ quest to...

by Will Compernolle Thousands of blue recycling carts totaling nearly $1 million in value are sitting idle in a warehouse in Chicago, the Sun-Times reports. The city acknowledged about 22,000 carts – priced at $45-per-container – are going unused because the city ran out of money one-third of the way through an effort to expand curbside...

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a dozen Cook County contracts are being investigated by the county’s ethics board and inspector general. Two of the contracts went to businesses that are not registered with the county or state, “a requirement of businesses doing contract work for Cook County”. The article states: Contracts obtained by the Sun-Times...

by Kate Piercy Because of “improper spending and oversight of TIFs,” Inspector General Joe Ferguson has concluded the City of Chicago lost Chicago taxpayers “$1.2 million in funds generated by the now-defunct Central Loop tax-increment-financing district — and spent $329,000 for ineligible art work,” according to a Sun-Times report. Ferguson audited of “more than four years worth...