CITY OF CHICAGO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 740 NORTH SEDGWICK STREET, SUITE 200 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60654
JOSEPH M. FERGUSON - TELEPHONE: (773) 478-7799
INSPECTOR GENERAL FAX: (773) 478-3949
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
David Reynolds Commissioner
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 300 Chicago, Illinois 60602
Dear Commissioner Reynolds:
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) writes to bring to your attention to concerns regarding the City of Chicago Department of Assets, Information and Services (AIS) inventory and management of municipal license plates issued and registered to City vehicles. An OIG review found that the municipal license plate inventory AIS manages does not match the Illinois Secretary of State (ILSOS) database of municipal plates issued to the City. Approximately 7,000 municipal license plates issued by ILSOS for City vehicles are unaccounted for at AIS. Without an accurate database and regular audit of the City's municipal license plates, AIS is unable to account for and track the possession and use of all municipal license plates assigned to the City, resulting in, among other things, a significant risk of abuse and misconduct with municipal plates and vehicles within the City's fleet.
I. AIS MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF MUNICIPAL LICENSE PLATES REGISTERED TO THE CITY OF CHICAGO
To understand AIS' management and inventory of City vehicles and assigned municipal license plates, OIG reviewed AIS records and interviewed a manager of vehicle services, director of maintenance, and two vehicle registration coordinators. Vehicle registration coordinators handle registration for all City fleet vehicles, including Chicago Police Department (CPD) vehicles and non-CPD City fleet vehicles issued to other City departments. When the City registers a new fleet vehicle, it completes an application for a vehicle transaction and mails it to ILSOS; within approximately four to six weeks, ILSOS issues and mails a license plate, registration, and title to the City for the' ...
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