Duty to cooperate.
Municipal Code of Chicago § 2-56-090
in effect2-56-090 Duty to cooperate.
(a) It shall be the duty of every elected or appointed officer, employee, department, agency, lobbyist engaged in the lobbying of elected or appointed City officers or employees, contractor, subcontractor, agent, or licensee of the City, and every applicant for certification of eligibility for a City contract or program, to cooperate with the Inspector General in any inquiry undertaken pursuant to this chapter. Each department’s premises, equipment, personnel, books, records, and papers shall be made available as soon as practicable to the Inspector General, including any testimony, books, records, or papers subject to subsection (b) of this section. Every City contract and every bid, proposal, application, or solicitation for a City contract, and every application for certification of eligibility for a City contract or program shall contain a statement that the person understands and will abide by all provisions of this chapter.
(b) Without limiting any duties under this section and subject to subsection (c) of this section, each City officer, employee, department, and agency shall comply with requests for oral testimony and provide all such books, records, and papers related to an inquiry undertaken by the Inspector General, without the need for the Inspector General to issue a subpoena.
(c) In the event that the Department of Law determines that any such testimony, books, records, or papers may be subject to attorney-client privilege or work-product protection belonging to the City, the Inspector General shall consult with the Department of Law to receive legal advice as to: (1) determine which, if any, such privilege or protection applies; (2) the Inspector General’s and the Office of Inspector General’s legal duties and responsibilities to preserve applicable privileges and protections, including under this chapter and in light of the fiduciary duty owed to the City; and (3) any steps or processes the Office of Inspector General is required to take to preserve any applicable privileges or protections. To the extent production of testimony, books, records, or papers to the Inspector General may be deemed a waiver of privilege, the Department of Law may produce a privilege log in lieu of the requested testimony, books, records, or papers. The Inspector General may request the Corporation Counsel to undertake further review of the logged materials. If the Inspector General makes a written request to the Corporation Counsel to review the logged materials, the Corporation Counsel shall make such logged materials available for the review of the Inspector General to the extent such review is not prohibited by law. Illustrative examples of such prohibition include, but is not limited to, a pending litigation, court order or federal investigation. Provided, however, the Department of Law shall not be required to produce testimony, books, records, or papers that are subject to attorney-client privilege or work-product protection and involve communications in which an attorney is representing a City officer or employee for the purposes of Section 2-60-100, or as otherwise directed by the City Council in accordance with Section 21-11 of the Revised Cities and Villages Act of 1941, codified at 65 ILCS 20/21-11. Nothing in this subsection shall relieve any City officer, employee, department, or agency, including the Corporation Counsel and employees of the Department of Law from the duty to cooperate under this section, unless specifically provided herein.
(Prior code § 19-9; Added Coun. J. 10-4-89, p. 5726; Amend Coun. J. 5-12-10, p. 92409, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 2-10-16, p. 19348, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-7-22, p. 54948, Art. I, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-16-25, p. 30431, § 1)
Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2599910Fetched: 10/24/2026