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APRIL 2021
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JOSEPH M. FERGUSON INSPECTOR GENERAL
CITY OF CHICAGO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 740 NORTH SEDGWICK STREET, SUITE 200 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60654 TELEPHONE: (773) 478-7799 FAX: (773) 478-3949
APRIL 14, 2021
TO THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY CLERK, CITY TREASURER, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit assessing the Chicago Fire Department's (CFD) policies and practices related to discrimination and sexual harassment. The Department—which is 90% male and 66% White—has been a defendant in multiple discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits. This history raises concerns about whether its internal culture, which typically lags behind changes to laws and policies, negatively affects the experience of members who are not among its prevailing demographics. The Department is not alone in facing these issues; nationwide, fire department demographics are relatively homogenous, and departments share historical cultural challenges related to discrimination and sexual harassment.
We examined CFD's discrimination and sexual harassment policies and complaint procedures, and aspects of their implementation. We also conducted a survey of the Department, to which 285 employees, or 6% of CFD's roughly 5,000-person workforce, responded. While their responses may not represent the views of all CFD employees, high rates of respondents reported experiencing on-the-job discrimination and/or sexual harassment. Survey respondents also provided ideas for how CFD could better address these issues.
Based on the audit results, OIG concluded that while CFD's policies comply with federal, state, and local laws, the policies t...
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