Deborah Witzburg sits down for candid interview before her last day as Chicago's inspector general

CHICAGO (WLS) -- She has spent four years as the top ethics enforcer for the city of Chicago. At the end of the week, Deborah Witzburg will step down from the Office of the Inspector General.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Witzburg sat down with the I-Team, admitting that it has not been easy but stressing the work for transparency and accountability in government is more important than ever.

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Their relationship has been adversarial, and then, there was the audit highlighting lavish gifts accepted by the city.

"The characterization of how this report came out is misguided," commented Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in January 2025.

"What made that a story, that people cared about and paid attention to, had much less to do with the cufflinks and the engraved pens, and much more to do with the fact that OIG investigators, who are entitled by law to access city premises, were told that they couldn't enter a room at City Hall," said Witzburg.

The outgoing OIG recounted that splashy investigation into Johnson's receipt of gifts after a scathing report from her office on lavish, undocumented items given to the mayor.

"We found out later that that room, the actual room, which was displayed to the public, wasn't even built until after we tried to inspect it," Witzburg said.

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During her tenure, she criticized the mayor for not firing an aide accused of extorting an alderperson for a vote. She also tore into the law department for refusing to provide records they were legally required to, excoriated the Chicago Police Department for spotty record keeping on discipline levied against officers, and the list goes on. It all circles around a singular point Witzburg underscored, which is, "What is allowed to go on in city government when no one is watching?"

She said she had good working relationships with other city departments and individuals, and despite a series of rebukes of how city hall conducts public business, Witzburg told the I-Team she was not forced out and only reached out directly to Johnson on three occasions in the last four years. She said she never got a response.

"He and I have not had a lot of direct, personal, individual interactions. I haven't heard back from him. The decision not to seek reappointment to a second term was mine and mine alone," she insisted.

After Witzburg said her office faced major roadblocks from the city she worked to change the law, and working with Ald. Matt Martin, the chair of the Ethics Committee, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to give the OIG more power to conduct interviews with city employees without city attorneys present and collect relevant records to substantiate claims.

"When you have an inspector general's office investigating alleged misconduct, especially involving elected officials or senior members of our team, they need to have access to as much information as it exists to get to the bottom of things," he stated.

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Witzburg also criticized former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who appointed her, finding in 2023 Lightfoot violated the city's ethics laws by sending campaign emails to city employees asking for contributions. The Chicago Board of Ethics later dismissed those findings.

"If a mayor felt entirely warm and fuzzy about their about their inspector general, then we probably wouldn't be doing our job," said Witzburg, who would only reveal this about her future: "It has always been my intention to spend a career in public service. That continues to be, that continues to be my plan."

The OIG is poised to release another report Tuesday as Witzburg said she is running through the finish line.

The mayor's office told the I-Team Johnson is committed to good governance and public transparency, but said the administration is concerned Witzburg politicized the office and compromised its credibility.

"Mayor Johnson is committed to good governance and public transparency. At the same time, the administration has been concerned by the current Inspector General's record of politicizing the office's authority in a manner that has compromised the credibility and independence of the OIG, which must remain grounded in facts, fairness, and the public trust. We look forward to working in good faith with whomever is selected as the next Inspector General while ensuring governance is carried out faithfully and in the interest of Chicagoans," the mayor's office said.

Martin said the search for Witzburg's replacement is already underway and could be decided by next month.