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Brandon Johnson Isn't Gift Enough for Chicago? Don't Fret About That Room Full of Other Stuff

AP Photo/Paul Beaty

Ah, bear-of-little-brains Chicago mayor Brand Johnson can't keep himself out of the spotlight no matter what he does.

Actually, if you look at his expressions in these latest news conferences, it's more 'deer-in-the-headlights' than happily center stage.

Take this classic from yesterday, when a reporter asked a pretty straightforward, legit question.

Yo, mayor - how was this guy wandering the streets for years while Homan walks in one weekend and snatches him up?

IT'S NOT MY JOB

If this pace keeps up, the man-child will be checking himself back into the sanitarium for another round of rested nerves and relaxation.

If he does, that might give everyone a chance to see what's in Al Capone's basement, aka the mayor's treasure room.

Good grief. 

Until the Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) went looking, who even knew he had one?

It’s not uncommon for the mayor of Chicago to be presented with a t-shirt or a trinket when he visits a school or a neighborhood event.

Normally, the mayor accepts those gifts on behalf of the city's residents, but a new report from the Office of the Inspector General raises questions about some of the pricier items presented to the city and who is keeping track of them.

“These items don’t belong to the mayor or the mayor’s office, these items belong to Chicagoans, they shouldn’t be hidden from Chicagoans,” said Deborah Witzburg, Chicago’s Inspector General.

The problem in this instance, as always, is Johnson's secretive, skulking way of doing things. Last June, the OIG sent an undercover representative to city hall to request to see the gift logbook, which is the way they city has kept track of 'gifts' since 1989. The mayor's office denied the request and told the agent to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to be able to get ahold of the log.

After waiting for the FOIA to be fulfilled in a timely manner and for the document to be produced - it never was (basically, the city was blowing the 'citizen' off) - well, that set the OIG into 'we mean business now' motion. 

They fired off an 'official document request' which the city was compelled to respond to.

...The OIG then sent an official document request to the Mayor's Office for the logbook and received a spreadsheet detailing 380 gifts accepted by the Mayor's Office "on behalf of the city" between Feb. 2, 2022 and March 20 of last year. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot's logs included entries for 144 gifts received while Mayor Brandon Johnson's logs contained 236 entries.

Among the gifts given under the Johnson administration were Hugo Boss cufflinks; Givenchy, Gucci, and Kate Spade handbags; a personalized Mont Blanc pen; and size 14 men’s shoes, OIG officials said. Some of the gifts were stored in the gift room and the others were in Mayor Brandon Johnson's personal office, the inspector said.

As anyone knows who was in business or the military, when you get an inventory list, you have to bounce it - what's listed - against what's physically present. Do you have everything accounted for on the list, or more/less.

It has to match.

Which was the OIG's next step. Unannounced, they popped on up to the offices where the 'gift room' was and said 'We're here to do an inspection.'

It didn't go the way it was supposed to.

...The OIG visited the fifth floor to conduct an unannounced inspection of the Gift Room and was denied access.

"When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny of the propriety of such gifts, the identities or intentions of the gift-givers, or what it means for gifts like whiskey, jewelry, handbags, and size 14 men’s shoes to be accepted ‘on behalf of the City,’" said Deborah Witzburg, inspector general for the City of Chicago.

The mayor's office is doubling down on not having to show anybody anything unless it's on their terms aka lots of heads up.

...The Mayor's Office responded that it would allow OIG access to the Gift Room with only "a properly scheduled appointment."

Johnson is dismissive and defensive about the hats, t-shirts, and trinkets.

And looks like an utter, crooked fool.

...I don't want people to think, you all, that there's some room in city government where there's just a wall full of belts and socks and shoes and fancy hats...now, there are some people who have given hats...

I can't EVEN with this guy. Particularly when it sure sounds as if that's exactly the kind of room they are working so hard to hide somewhere in the city government. Besides whatever the mayor was keeping on hand in his office.

WHY IS EVERYBODY ALWAYS PICKIN' ON ME?

You never know when you'll need a snort of something really good to get through a rough day. It helps to have it right by the Hizzoner's desk in Room 507.

This is still technically legal - never left the building!

Chicago papers are having a field day with this bozo and his goofy faces.

Johnson is the gift that keeps on giving.

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | January 31, 2025
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Ed Morrissey 10:40 AM | January 31, 2025
David Strom 10:00 AM | January 31, 2025
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