Monday’s two biggest stories were the City Hall cabinet shuffle and David Hoffman’s speech to the City Club, in which he laid out his vision for a corruption-free Chicago. (No, seriously.) Dan Mihalopoulos emphasizes Hoffman’s call for more transparency in the Olympics bid; WBEZ notes that he’s considering running for something (Mick Dumke suggests mayor, but doesn’t County Board seem more like it?)
Hoffman cited the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption as a model for how a city with a dirty reputation can turn itself around quickly. (Does this mean Chicago could be the setting for a Hard Boiled remake?) Hoffman included New York City’s Independent Budget Office as an example, pointed to the city’s history of transformation as an inspiration for reversing our”reputation problem.” (Hoffman didn’t mention the hopeful example of Louisiana which, under Bobby Jindal’s leadership, has made significant strides towards reform, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Hoffman also talked about the ways government might borrow from “agile development,” a software concept he credited to Internet entrepreunner (and former Smart Bart DJ) Joi Ito. From Clout Street’s coverage of the speech:
Hoffman recalled a statement last week from 2016 bid leader Patrick Ryan, who said he could not yet bring a proposal for an additional Olympic financial guarantee to aldermen. Last Monday, Ryan told reporters, “We’d look like dummies because we don’t have it all complete.” “It’s just the wrong approach for government. ” [said Hoffman.] “It’s OK if you put something out there and it’s not perfect … If some people who presented that idea aren’t seen as perfect, that’s OK … Let’s not be so impressed with our own ideas. There’s no monopoly on wisdom.”
Lastly:
- The Inspector General’s tipline is staffed from 8-8– a great idea, no, Aldermen?
- Hoffman reproted that in the two years before he assumed office, the IG had brought forth two cases; in the 2 years since, he’s filed nearly 50.
