OIG Finds the City Council Office of Financial Analysis Provided Limited Assistance to City Council in Budget Planning and Decision Making

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit of the City Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA).

OIG’s objective was to determine whether COFA fulfilled its mission of providing independent financial analysis to support City Council in performing its role in the management of the City of Chicago’s financial affairs.

OIG found that COFA has not consistently provided independent financial analysis to City Council; the reports COFA has provided have had limited utility—because of content or timing of release or both—to help City Council make decisions affecting the City’s budget and financial affairs.

“Independent, objective financial analysis is vital to protecting the public’s interest in the effective and efficient expenditure of City funds—and, given the City’s dire fiscal straits, it is more urgent than ever that COFA be positioned and equipped to play a meaningful role in the budget process,” said Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago.

Deborah Witzburg Inspector General City of Chicago

“An appropriately resourced and empowered COFA would provide the City’s legislators with independent, reliable insights and better enable them to operate as an appropriately co-equal branch of government.”

COFA was created by the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) to protect the public interest by providing independent, nonpartisan information to City Council to help City Council members make fiscally responsible decisions on the City’s budget. However, OIG found that COFA lacks access to essential City data and resources to make timely analysis and meet its requirements as outlined by MCC. Additionally, COFA has neither retained the majority of reports or work paper documentation from before 2021, nor followed a records retention schedule, meaning it may not be in compliance with the Illinois Local Records Act.

OIG recommended that COFA work with the Office of Budget and Management and other City departments to gain timely and unhindered access to the data, databases, and reports it needs to fulfill its mission. Additionally, OIG recommended that COFA conduct a staffing analysis to assess what resources are needed to complete its work as required by the MCC.

In response, COFA stated that, during the course of the audit, it has obtained direct access to some City data systems and is currently working to obtain other necessary data, it has expanded its staff, and is focused on adhering to its MCC requirements to improve timeliness of reports.

Read the Report

Read the full report, including departmental response, published on April 21, 2026.

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