Office of Inspector General
City of Chicago
Report of the Office of Inspector General:
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Departments of Transportation and Finance Loading Zone and Residential Disabled sign Processes Follow-Up Inquiry
Joseph M. Ferguson Inspector General
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
City of Chicago
740 N. Sedgwick Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 Telephone: (773) 478-7799 Fax: (773)478-3949
July 01, 2016
To the Mayor, Members of the City Council, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and residents ofthe City of Chicago:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a follow-up to its June 2015 Loading Zone and Residential Disabled Sign Processes audit of the Departments of Transportation (CDOT) and Finance (DOF). OIG concludes that CDOT and DOF have partially implemented corrective actions related to the audit findings.
Our original audit revealed that CDOT conducted site surveys and billing for loading zone signs, while DOF conducted site surveys and billing for disabled parking signs. Aldermen reviewed both types of sign requests, and, if approved via ordinance, CDOT installed the signs. The purpose of the audit was to determine if the applicable fees were collected and to identify any delays in the installation processes.
Regarding the loading zone sign process, OIG found that the City had failed to collect $3.9 million in recurring loading zone fees invoiced in 2013, and miscalculated installation fees resulting in overpayments of $10,550 by business owners who requested signs. Also, CDOT took an average of 337 days after receiving an approved request to install a loading zone sign. Based on our findings, OIG recommended that CDOT restructure the loading zone process to improve efficiency, as the department itself had proposed in 2013, or pursue alternative means of correcting problems with its billing and installation processes. Possible alternatives identified by OIG included creating a complete invento...
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