Shakman

On May 31, 2007, the federal court approved an “Accord” in the Shakman case that designates the Inspector General’s Office as the investigating agency for all Shakman “Accord Complaints”

“Accord Complaints” are a new kind of Complaint for those who believe they have been subjected to political discrimination by the City of Chicago in any employment decision (hiring, promotions, transfers, etc.) that occurred on or after June 1, 2007.

An Accord Complaint could result in monetary damages for victims of discrimination, and discipline or prosecution for the offenders.Complaints can only be made by submitting an Accord Complaint Form to the Inspector General’s Office. Click here for a hard copy of the Accord Complaint Form that you can mail into our office, or click here to submit a complaint regarding unfair hiring to the IGO website.

The Inspector General’s Office is operated independently from the rest of City government, and by law we conduct all of our investigations confidentially.

If you have submitted an Accord Complaint and have already received an Inspector General’s Case Report, you may choose to file an Arbitration Demand Form with the City of Chicago Law Department. For information about the arbitration process, click here. An Arbitration Form is available here.

If you do file an Arbitration Demand Form, you will be required to include a copy of your Accord Complaint and the Inspector General’s Case Report. Any communication with the Law Department, including any forms or documents you submit to the Law Department, will not be confidential. The Inspector General’s Office does not participate in the arbitration process. Please fully read the Accord Arbitration Demand Procedures before filing an Arbitration Demand Form with the Law Department.

If you believe you were the victim of political discrimination from employment actions that occurred BEFORE June 1, 2007, you may file a claim with the Shakman Decree Monitor directly. Click here to visit the Shakman Monitor’s website for further information about filing such a claim.

To confidentially report other types of corruption, fraud, and misconduct to the Inspector General’s Office, please click here.

Click here to read the City’s 2011 Hiring Plan.