It was “improper” for the department led by Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry to refuse to provide those records to the Office of the Inspector General, Deborah Witzburg said in a statement.

In the latest case to be settled, the Chicago City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $15.4 million to Robert Smith Jr., who spent 33 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of the 1987 double murder of his wife’s mother and grandmother.

Had the settlement been even one dollar more, it would have required Chicago City Council approval under city rules. Instead, it was authorized by Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry.

After the convictions of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and former Ald. Ed Burke, Chicago politics are falling under renewed scrutiny by those pushing for reform.