Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson Reappointed: Report

Joe Ferguson likely will remain Chicago's inspector general, at least for now.

Ferguson will be re-appointed for another four-year term, but the Chicago Sun-Times reports he is expected to step down after next summer.

In a statement to the Sun-Times, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he is "pleased to accept the Inspector General's offer to stay on through next summer and complete the important work currently under way."

Ferguson said in a statement he'll move on to other things next year but thanked the mayor for agreeing "to allow me to continue to work on wrapping up some unfinished projects, most notably achieving Shakman compliance and fully implementing the administration’s ethics reform bill.”

The two haven't always been on such agreeable terms.

In 2011 Ferguson said he can't do his job effectively because of "serious understaffing" by the city and lack of access to information.

“The city has never permitted the IGO to fully staff the unit, even as authorized by its budget,” Ferguson said in a statement. His office had a similar fight with Emanuel's predecessor Richard Daley.

Among Ferguson's Chicago findings, he suggested in a 2011 report that recipients of city financial help were directed to donate money to Maggie Daley's charity, After School Matters.

He suggested earlier this year that nearly 300 Chicago Police positions should be converted to civilian positions and questioned in May the locations of Chicago's red-light cameras.

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