The office of mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, has released a video with regard to all the lush gifts he has received, of which critics say she “raises more questions than answers.”
The video, shared last night, shows a brightly lit room with different boards that are packed with gifts, including different pairs of designer shoes and several pieces of personalized artworks of themselves.
Together with these there are countless coffee mugs, shoes, baseball caps, T-shirts, prices, plaques and books.
Although much of these cannot be fully identified, the larger gifts, including what the NASCAR tracksuit looks like that Johnson was wearing when he started the Nascar Chicago Street race in July.
The video was part of a series of protocols from the mayor's office to stimulate responsibility – it was published in addition to a log of items that Johnson has received.
The Accountability Initiative comes after the office of the Inspector General accused Johnson, which was chosen as mayor of Chicago in 2023, of accepting high-quality gifts and not reporting them.
“These procedures confirm the dedication of the mayor to ethical administration and transparency and ensure rapid disclosure of all gifts received on behalf of the city,” said a statement from the mayor's office.
But Inspector -General Deborah Witzburg, the officer that Johnson accused of inappropriate, said WTTW News: 'I am not sure if there is a lot of comfort. These items belong to the city of Chicago and must be accessible to the public to which they belong. '
The office of mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, has released a video with regard to all the lush gifts he has received, of which critics say she 'raises more questions than answers'
The video was part of a series of protocols from the mayor's office to stimulate responsibility
Various personalized artworks that show themselves can be seen in the video
Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago responds to a question in his office of the town hall during an interview with the Associated Press Monday 6 May 2024 in Chicago
A 20 -second video is “no replacement for public access to public ownership,” said Witzburg.
The Witzburg report accused Johnson of reporting various gifts of high value.
The reportedly not reported gifts were Hugo Boss Cufflinks, Givenchy, Gucci and Kate Spade Handbags, a personalized Mont Blanc Pen and size 14 men's shoes.
The new protocols note that civil servants must report gifts within 10 days of receipt and must be stored in a designated area that can be viewed with a video recording.
The new list has 365 gifts that his office says he has accepted since May 2023.
But the logbook does not identify who has given the gifts in the vast majority of cases, even though there is a clear space for officials to indicate this.
On Tuesday alone, the office said that it accepted 22 gifts, including four pairs of 'gentlemen Goldstar dress socks' and a 'Crystal Necklace'.
Witzburg said that she was worried that the mayor's office would not fully comply with the rules for ethics.
“We didn't make much progress,” said Witzburg. “Something like that leaves more questions than answers.”
