Chicago Board of Ethics

All Statements of Financial Interests filed by candidates are posted here: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

Chicago's next Consolidated Municipal Election is February 23, 2027. All candidates must file Statements of Financial Interests with us after qualifying as candidates. We've updated our Guide for Candidates: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

We've updated the status of Case 25021, which is based on an investigation by @ChicagoOIG: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

The Board thanks @ChicagoOIG for their work on these complex matters.

And in Case 25028, involving a former employee's relative who was employed by a City vendor and an alleged quid pro quo, the Board dismissed the matter against the vendor, but continued the matter with respect to the former employee: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

The Board also declined to find probable cause in an case referred by @ChicagoOIG involving an elected official investigated for advocating for their relative's employment, as there was insufficient evidence in the record to show advocacy. Case 26008: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

At yesterday's meeting the Board also granted a City employee a waiver from the law's prohibition on receiving more than $1,000 from a City loan or grant program, to enabler the employee to apply for home modifications for a disabled child. See: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

Among other actions the Board took yesterday, it dismissed a citizen complaint alleging that an elected official caused improper political content to be posted on their official social media page (Case 26011.C). See: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

The Board met earlier today. It issued a waiver, dismissed several cases, and continued another. Watch this space for more tomorrow.

We will be underway shortly. Here is our Executive Director's Report: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

In lobbying news, 684 individuals are currently registered with us, and we have collected $283,605 in 2026 registration fees. A complete list of lobbyists and their clients is here: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

A reminder for lobbyists: 1Q 2026 Activity Reports are due by 11:59:59pm Monday April 20. Don't be late! chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

The Board meets next on Monday, April 13 at 2pm, live and via Zoom. Respectful public comment and participation is welcome. Here's the agenda and Zoom access info: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

The legal reason for this is that the IL Election Code does not preempt home rule as to a unit of local government's campaign contribution limits. (It preempts local laws as to placement of electioneering signs, etc., but not as to contribution limits.)

A common Mayoral election question we get: "so the State law caps on campaign contributions are "blown" because of a self-funder--do the City's campaign contribution limits still apply?" YES they still do. See this: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

We're 1/2 way done with filing season--all ~3,975 filers must file before May 2. All filed forms are posted here for public inspection (we keep them for 7 years): webapps1.chicago.gov/efis/search

Interesting case from our colleagues at the Nevada Commission in Ethics ⁦@ethics_nevada⁩ . We’ve not seen a matter like this. rgj.com/story/news/202…

Our two newest Board members were confirmed earlier today by the City Council. Here are brief bios of all 7 Board members: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

Here are the minutes of the Board's February 2026 meeting: chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

The Board also granted a waiver from the ethics law's revolving door prohibitions to a City employee to become the first CEO of the Chicago Residential Investment Fund ("CRIF"): chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…