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<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">FOR RELEASE</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">:<br>
September 24, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-bottom:1rem;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">PRESS CONTACT</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">:<br>
Deanna Shoss, Communications, 773-478-8417<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a descriptive explainer on the rules in place to prevent “pay-to-play” schemes
with City government, and loopholes in the law which compromise its purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">“City Hall is not for sale. Political campaign contributions have been regulated to protect against corruption or the appearance of corruption,” says Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for
the City of Chicago. “Critical gaps persist in the City’s current campaign finance laws which may allow functional equivalents of prohibited contributions. City Council has, in recent days, closed some loopholes, but there is more work to do. This explainer
aims to provide Chicagoans with clear information about what is – and, critically, what isn’t and should be – against the rules when it comes to giving money to City actors.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-bottom:1rem;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">The report outlines the current laws that limit campaign contributions to elected City officials, candidates for City office, and officials or employees seeking election to any other office,
and details gaps in those laws that allow certain entities to make unlimited campaign contributions, including labor unions, PACs, and owners and employees of entities doing business or seeking to do business with the City. Building on and codifying campaign
finance rules would strengthen the City’s bulwarks against corruption.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529">Read the Report</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;margin-bottom:1rem;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif;color:#212529"><a href="https://igchicago.org/publications/campaign-finance-rules-explainer/" target="_blank">Read the full report, released on September 24, 2024</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#212529"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">Deanna Shoss</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">(She/Her)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">Director of Communications and Outreach</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">Office of Inspector General</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">740 N. Sedgwick, Suite 200</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">Chicago, IL 60654</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif"><a href="mailto:dshoss@igchicago.org"><span style="color:#0563C1">dshoss@igchicago.org</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">(773) 478-8417</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">You know your city. Talk to us about making Chicago government better.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">(833) TALK-2-IG |
<a href="mailto:talk2ig@igchicago.org"><span style="color:blue">talk2ig@igchicago.org</span></a> |
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.igchicago.org/__;!!B24N9PvjPQId!Z_DAkp5uIQ4eGvUpxbN8y5bUuGNlV1b3QitWrOOQyjEHq2l7tR02zPFHS7bNjaNVKW7DTIdKU-n24pDdDQthXfZHp3E$">
<span style="color:blue">igchicago.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial Nova Light",sans-serif">The information contained in this communication may be confidential or subject to a legal privilege. Unauthorized use, disclosure, or copying of this communication
or any part thereof may violate a federal, state, or local law or may be prohibited by a City of Chicago rule or policy. If you have received this communication in error, please do not read it and notify me immediately by return e-mail. I may ask you to destroy
this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Thank you.</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
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