WILLIAM MARBACK INTERIM 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 26, 2022
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 a follow-up to its April 2021 audit ofthe Chicago Fire Department's (CFD) policies and practices related to discrimination and sexual harassment. Based on the Department's response, OIG concludes that CFD has overall worked towards implementing corrective actions related to the audit findings.
The purpose ofthe 2021 audit was to determine whether CFD's discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, reporting, and training policies and practices complied with relevant laws and regulations. We also assessed CFD members' experiences with and views on the Department's workplace environment and culture related to discrimination and sexual harassment. Our audit found that, while CFD's policies comply with baseline federal, state, and local laws, the policies themselves, as well as the complaint process and training used to enforce and promote them, were insufficient to meet the environmental challenges posed by a command and control emergency service operation like CFD. The audit also found that the Department's culture and workplace environment may make some members vulnerable to discrimination and/or sexual harassment.
Based on the results ofthe audit, OIG recommended that CFD provide written guidance and training to its Internal Affairs Division (IAD) staff on processes for receiving complaints of discrimination or sexual harassment in a trauma-informed manner and referring them to the Department of Human Resources' (DHR) Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Division for investigation. OIG also recommended that CFD implement training for its members, supplemental to the training p...
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