Investigations
Former Chicago Board of Ethics Deputy Director Should Be Fired After She Drove Drunk, Caused Crashes, Battered Bystander: Watchdog
(WTTW News)
The former deputy director of the Chicago Board of Ethics should be fired for driving under the influence of alcohol, causing three collisions and becoming “physically combative with a bystander,” according to a report released Thursday by the city’s watchdog.
Lauren Maniatis is no longer an employee of the board, which is responsible for enforcing the city’s ethics laws, records show.
Maniatis, a former assistant state’s attorney, was not named in the quarterly report released by Inspector General David Glockner, in keeping with the city’s rules. However, records obtained by WTTW News show Maniatis was arrested and charged with drunken driving just before 8 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2025, near Jefferson Park’s namesake park on the city’s Far Northwest Side.
Maniatis, 43, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WTTW News, pleaded guilty in February to driving under the influence and was sentenced to two years of supervision and ordered to pay $1,508 in fines, records show.
Before he retired, the longtime executive director of the board recommended Maniatis as his replacement. It is not clear when the inspector general began the investigation or when officials with Board of Ethics were made aware of Maniatis’ arrest and guilty plea.
When officers arrived after 911 calls reporting the crashes and a battery in progress, Maniatis “had a strong odor of alcohol emanating from breath” and “bloodshot/glassy/watery eyes and slurred speech,” according to the arrest report.
According to the inspector general’s probe, the Board of Ethics employee “falsely denied drinking or being in an accident multiple times and lied to officers about the employee’s occupation before being arrested.”
When she was taken to the police station, “the employee uttered curse words to CPD officers and CFD paramedics who ultimately transported the employee to the hospital,” according to the inspector general’s probe.
The inspector general’s probe also “established that the employee had previously brought alcohol into (Board of Ethics) premises multiple times, and consumed alcohol on (Board of Ethics) premises on one occasion after work hours, though not on the date of their arrest.”
The employee should be placed on the city’s do-not-hire list, according to the report.
Maniatis was promoted to deputy director of the Board of Ethics in May 2025 after serving as the agency’s legal counsel, records show.
Maniatis, who earned $126,396 annually, according to city records, left the city sometime during the past month, records show.
New Board of Ethics Leadership
Board of Ethics Executive Director Steve Berlin retired at the end of August after serving as Chicago’s chief ethics enforcer for 18 years, records show.
Berlin had recommended to Mayor Brandon Johnson that he name Maniatis as his replacement.
Instead, Johnson tapped Karisa Flores to serve as the board’s acting executive director. However, Flores has also left the city after less than two months in that role. Her departure came after testifying in front of the City Council’s Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight last month where she urged them to tighten the city’s Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance.
That proposal passed the City Council unanimously.
Johnson named Allen Thomas as acting director of the Board of Ethics on Oct. 12, according to his spokesperson who did not respond to questions about the departures of Maniatis and Flores.
A 10-year veteran of the city’s Department of Law, Thomas most recently served as chief assistant corporation counsel in the Legal Information and Prosecutions Division, according to a mayoral spokesperson.
The City Council on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Johnson’s reappointment of Ryan Cortazar to the Board of Ethics, where he has been serving as vice chair since former Chair William Conlon stepped down in July 2025.
Cortazar was first appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The mayor plans to appoint Cortazar as chair, according to Johnson’s spokesperson.
The City Council also unanimously confirmed law professor Michael Schlesinger to the Board of Ethics, where he will replace Sarah Jin, whose term expired.
WTTW News investigative coverage is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
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