Chicago has a rat problem and it isn't likely to improve if the city doesn't come up with a new playbook, according to a just-released analysis by the city's watchdog.

“By administratively closing hundreds of cases COPA may have alleviated its own burden, but it also created a vacuum of accountability within the police oversight system it is mandated to uphold,” according to the analysis released by the Office of the Inspector General.

“For Black Chicago in particular, it kind of felt a way that government was able to turn on resources in a moment’s notice that our communities have been starved for decades,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “And I tried desperately to live in my values, even though it cost me politically. It did. It did cost me.”

One year of employee discipline data, obtained by WTTW News, reveals more than 700 cases of misbehavior across Chicago Public Schools. Case outcomes ranged from verbal warnings and written reprimands to suspensions and Do Not Rehire designations. Frequently, those banned from returning to work quit during the disciplinary investigation.

CPD spent approximately $700,000 more on overtime during the first six months of 2026 than it did during the same period in 2025, according to a database published by Inspector General David Glockner.

The eight officers obtained loans worth approximately $283,000 after making “materially false statements in their applications for forgiveness of the loans,” according to the report.

Another member of CPD was fired after showing other employees of the police department photos of the teen dressed in the Nazi uniform while at work, creating “an offensive work environment,” according to the inspector general’s report.

David Glockner said he would focus his efforts on areas “that matter most for the effective, equitable and efficient delivery of city services” and use his office’s audit authority to probe the “most significant risks.”

Deborah Witzburg served a single four-year term as inspector general and declined to ask Mayor Brandon Johnson for reappointment following frequent clashes with the mayor.

Mayor Brandon Johnson called David Glockner “a seasoned public servant with the experience, independence, and integrity needed to serve as the city’s watchdog and strengthen accountability across our operations.”

Records obtained by WTTW News show a former CPS employee logged paid work hours while traveling domestically and abroad, contributing to inflated vendor bills and alleged time fraud. The investigation concluded the conduct amounted to theft under Illinois law and triggered personnel terminations across CPS and its contractor.

Chicago has earned “every bit” of its reputation as the most corrupt of corrupt American cities, with much more work to be done, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg did not conclude in the report released Wednesday that the CPD members deliberately covered up the fatal crash. Instead, Witzburg found that their actions prevented her office from “conducting a full and complete investigation."

CPD’s 2026 budget is $2.1 billion, including $200 million for overtime, records show.

“The robustness and integrity of CPD’s disciplinary system is absolutely vital,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “If we are to take seriously the task of fostering trust in CPD, the city must build and run a police disciplinary system in which both members of the public and members of the department have reason to be confident.”

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.