2-156-015 Ethics pledge – When required.

   (a)   Persons required to file pledge. The following persons shall comply with the requirements of this section:

      (1)   Any person who serves as (i) a non- clerical employee of the Office of the Mayor, or (ii) a department head; and

      (2)   Any employee who holds an exempt position, as defined in Section 2-156-010, in a City department, board or agency on or after May 16, 2011, other than a person described in item (1) of this subsection (a); and

      (3)   Any person who is appointed by the Mayor to the board of any board, commission, authority or agency, on or after May 16, 2011.

   (b)   Contents of pledge. As a condition of employment or appointment, any person meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall comply with all applicable requirements set forth in Section 2-156-105, and shall sign, and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge:

"As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment or appointment by the City of Chicago in a position invested with the public trust, I shall, upon leaving government employment or appointment, comply with the applicable requirements of Section 2-156-105 of the Chicago Municipal Code imposing restrictions upon lobbying by former government employees, which I understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law.

I acknowledge that Section 2-156-105 of the Chicago Municipal Code, which I have read before signing this pledge, imposes restrictions upon former government employees and appointees and sets forth the methods for enforcing them. I expressly accept the applicable provisions of Section 2-156-105 of the Chicago Municipal Code as part of this agreement and as binding on me. I understand that the terms of this pledge are in addition to any statutory or other legal restrictions applicable to me by virtue of government service."

   (c)   Deadline for filing. Any person required to sign a pledge under this section shall file such pledge with the Board of Ethics within 14 days of commencing employment or appointment.

   (d)   Enforcement. The contractual, fiduciary and ethical commitments in the pledge required under this section shall be solely enforceable by the City of Chicago pursuant to this section by any legally available means, including judicial civil proceedings for declaratory, injunctive or monetary relief. Any former employee or appointee who is determined, after notice and hearing, by the board of ethics to have violated the pledge required under this section may be barred from lobbying any officer or employee of the relevant agency or agencies for up to 5 years in addition to the time period covered by the pledge. The corporation counsel or his or her designee is authorized: (1) upon receiving information regarding the possible breach of any commitment in a signed pledge, to request any appropriate City investigative authority to conduct such investigations as may be appropriate; and (2) upon determining that there is a reasonable basis to believe that a breach of a commitment has occurred or will occur or continue, if not enjoined, to commence a civil action against the former employee or appointee. In any such civil action, the corporation counsel or his or her designee is authorized to request any and all relief authorized by law, including but not limited to: (i) such temporary restraining orders and preliminary and permanent injunctions as may be appropriate to restrain future, recurring, or continuing conduct by the former employee or appointee in breach of the commitments in the pledge he or she signed; and (ii) disgorgement of all monies received in connection with any breach or attempted breach of the pledge signed by the former employee or appointee.

   (e)   Disclaimer. This section is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the City of Chicago, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(Added Coun. J. 7-28-11, p. 4941, § 2)

2-156-017 Ethics officers.

   (a)   Each department head and alderman shall designate an appropriate management-level employee who shall serve as the department's or aldermanic office's ethics officer. Department heads and aldermen shall provide the names and contact information of such ethics officers to the board no later than January 1. 2013, or within 30 days from swearing in as a city alderman. A department head or alderman shall designate a new ethics officer within 30 days after the current ethics officer leaves the department or aldermanic office, or otherwise ceases to serve as an ethics officer, and shall provide to the board the name and contact information of the new ethics officer.

   (b)   In addition to their regular job duties, ethics officers shall have the following responsibilities:

      (1)   collect financial statement forms, if on paper, from reporting employees and officials, review such forms for completeness, and submit such forms to the board;

      (2)   assist the board by forwarding notices to employees regarding timely completion of ethics filings and training, and upon request provide the board with such notices;

      (3)   direct ethics questions and issues to the board;

      (4)   assist the board in maintaining a current roster of employees and officials;

      (5)   provide answers to general ethics questions after consultation with the board;

      (6)   ensure compliance with ethics rules specifically applicable to their departments or aldermanic offices, and assist the board with respect to training responsibilities as identified in section 2-156-145 of this chapter;

      (7)   emphasize the role of ethics within their departments or aldermanic offices through regular email updates and office posters, and leading periodic discussions on ethics during staff meetings;

      (8)   assist the board to identify employees or officials who can be outstanding ethics models for city employees and officials; and

      (9)   generally serve as liaisons between their departments or aldermanic offices and the board.

   (c)   The board shall provide annual in-person training to ethics officers, and shall keep ethics officers informed of the board's latest ethics rulings. The board may also provide additional training and information to ethics officers as the board may deem appropriate.

(Added Coun. J. 7-25-12, p. 31123, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 7-29-15, p. 3567, § 1)

ARTICLE II. SUBSTANTIVE CODE OF CONDUCT PROVISIONS (2-156-018 et seq.)

Part 1. Duty to Report and Whistleblower Protection (2-156-018 et seq.)

2-156-018 Duty to report corrupt or unlawful activity.

   (a)   Every city employee or official shall report, directly and without undue delay, to the inspector general any and all information concerning conduct which such employee or official knows or should reasonably know to involve corrupt or other unlawful activity (i) by another city employee or official which concerns such employee's or official's employment or office; or (ii) by any person dealing with the city which concerns the person's dealings with the city. Any employee or official who knowingly fails to report a corrupt or unlawful activity as required in this section shall be subject to employment sanctions, including discharge, in accordance with procedures under which the employee may otherwise be disciplined.

   (b)   Every city contractor shall report, directly and without undue delay, to the city's inspector general any and all information concerning conduct by any person which such contractor knows to involve corrupt activity. A city contractor's knowing failure to report corrupt activity as required in this subsection (b) shall constitute an event of default under the contract. For purposes of this subsection (b), "corrupt activity" shall mean any conduct set forth in subparagraph (a)(1), (2) or (3) of Section 1-23-020 of this Code. The standard for knowledge applied to the terms "knows" and "knowing" in this subsection (b) shall be the same standard applied to the terms "knowing" and "knowingly" in Section 1-22-010 of this Code.

   (c)   For purposes of this section, a report made to the inspector general's toll-free hotline shall be considered to be a report under this section.

(Added Coun. J. 7-25-12, p. 31123, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 2-5-14, p. 74075, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 2-10-16, p. 19348, §§ 3, 5)

2-156-019 Whistleblower protection.

   (a)   For the purposes of this section:

      (1)   "Public body" means: (i) any office or department of the city; (ii) the state or federal government; (iii) any local law enforcement agency or prosecutorial office; (iv) any federal or state judiciary, grand or petit jury, or law enforcement agency; and (v) any official, employee, department, agency, or other division of any of the foregoing.

      (2)   "Retaliatory action" means: (i) the reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, or denial of promotion or transfer of any employee that is taken in retaliation for an employee's involvement in protected activity as set forth in subsection (b) of this section; or (ii) the denial or revocation of any city permit, license, certification, loan, grant, tax credit or other financial subsidy, the denial of any city service, or the denial of employment with the city for which a person is qualified, that is made in retaliation for that person having engaged in a protected activity as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

   (b)   No person shall take any retaliatory action against an employee or any other person because the employee or the person does any of the following:

      (1)   Discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public body an activity, policy, or practice of any official, employee, or city contractor that the employee or any other person reasonably believes evidences: (i) an unlawful use of city funds or city funding for actions performed by or on behalf of the city, unlawful use of official authority, or other unlawful official conduct that poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety by any official, employee or city contractor; or (ii) any other violation of a law, rule, or regulation by any official, employee, or city contractor that relates to their work performed for, or on behalf of, the city; or

      (2)   Provides information to or testifies before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any official activity, policy, or practice described in subsection (b)(1).

   (c)   if any retaliatory action, as defined in subsection (a)(2)(i), is taken against an employee in violation of this section, the employee shall be entitled to the following relief, if applicable:

      (1)   reinstatement of the employee to either the same position held before the retaliatory action or to an equivalent position;

      (2)   two times the amount of back pay; and

      (3)   reinstatement of full fringe benefits and seniority rights.

   (d)   If any retaliatory action, as defined in subsection (a)(2)(ii), is taken against any person in violation of this section, the person shall be entitled to the following relief, if applicable:

      (1)   Reconsideration of a city permit, license, certification, loan, grant, tax credit, other financial subsidy, or city service denied or revoked as a result of the violation, to the extent such reconsideration is practically possible and funds are available.

      (2)   Reconsideration of a job application rejected as a result of the violation, to the extent such reconsideration is practically possible and such job position is not yet filled.

      (3)   Actual damages proved to be directly and specifically caused by, and that would not have occurred but for, the retaliatory action, but in no case shall such actual damages include claimed lost profits.

   (e)   (1)   It shall be a prerequisite to the bringing of an action against the city for relief under paragraph (d) of this section that the person seeking relief first provide written notice to the head of the city department or agency involved in an alleged retaliatory action and to the corporation counsel within 30 days of the person's awareness of facts giving rise to the claim of retaliatory action. The purpose of this notice requirement is to allow such department or agency a timely opportunity to recognize, correct and/or minimize any harm resulting from any retaliatory action. The notice shall specify in detail the facts and circumstances that constitute the alleged retaliatory action. Upon receiving this notice, the head of such department or agency shall investigate the allegations and take all necessary and appropriate actions to remedy any retaliatory action.

      (2)   Any action for relief under paragraph (d) of this section may only be brought against the City of Chicago, and must be brought within six months of the alleged retaliatory action for which relief is sought.

   (f)   The remedies set forth in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section shall be the sole and exclusive remedies for any violations of this section.

(Added Coun. J. 7-25-12, p. 31123, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 10-3-12, p. 35125, § 1)

2-156-020 Fiduciary duty.

   Officials and employees shall at all times in the performance of their public duties owe a fiduciary duty to the city.

(Prior code § 26.2-2; Added Coun. J. 5-16-90, p. 16204)