After his swearing-in Monday, new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed a series of executive orders aimed at strengthening the city’s ethics rules.
One of three orders he signed bars new appointees from lobbying the city for two years after their departure. Appointees of former Mayor Richard Daley are exempt if they leave by Nov. 16.
Lower-level employees would be banned from lobbying the agencies or departments where they worked. Appointees to boards and commissions are banned from lobbying the board or commission on which they sat.
Another order prohibits city lobbyists from making political contributions to the mayor. One also strictly limits gifts or political contributions from city employees to their superiors, including the mayor.
Emanuel also signed three ethics orders that continue rules originally imposed by Daley. They include a ban on political contributions to the mayor from the owners of companies that do business with Chicago.
Another requires that city employees comply with hiring rules that ban political hiring and promotions, and yet another reaffirms that it is the duty of city employee to report wrongdoing to the city’s inspector general.
Under Daley, Chicago faced allegations that politics played a role in some hiring and promotional policies in violation of court orders.
“These executive orders will help restore Chicagoans’ confidence in their city government,” Emanuel said in a statement. “My first official act as mayor sends a clear message that all operations of city government must be guided by a spirit of public service.”
On Tuesday, he announced measures aimed at trimming $75 million from the $6.15 billion fiscal 2011 budget to help bring down a looming deficit in the next budget of around $600 million. The largest savings, $31.2 million, would come from improved grant management achieved by cutting administrative costs and improving the city’s utilization of available grant funds.
Emanuel, the new City Council, the treasurer, and the city clerk were sworn in Monday.
