The Civic Federation, the business-backed watchdog group best known for its analyses of local budgets, has named former Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson as its new president.

       Ferguson said under his leadership, the organization will still be dedicated to fiscal and budget issues. But rather than the often adversarial position he took as IG, he hopes to work with elected leaders on similar auditing functions “to make government work better … it’s a recalibration of what I’ve been doing for a very long time.”

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       His first day is Jan. 16.

       For 12 years and across three mayoral administrations, Ferguson was the city’s lead watchdog, heading the office that investigates waste, fraud and corruption in Chicago government.

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       Investigations during his tenure ranged from sexual harassment to infrastructure spending. Ferguson also oversaw the office expanding its oversight to include a public safety section, which took on high-profile audits of the city’s response to George Floyd protests, the Chicago Police Department’s gang database, and compliance with the consent decree, often clashing with mayors or their department heads along the way.

       He was previously a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office focused on public corruption, fraud and racketeering cases.

       The Civic Federation’s vice president and research director, Sarah Wetmore, has been the acting head of the organization since the sudden death of its longtime president, Laurence Msall, in February. Wetmore will return to her former role once Ferguson starts.

       Msall was credited with making the organization “the indispensable voice for fiscal responsibility throughout the state of Illinois,” the Civic Federation said after his passing.

       The group’s board “sought strong, strategic leadership inspired by a genuine passion for fiscal accountability and government efficiency,” according to the release announcing Ferguson’s appointment. “The search process was led by a 15-member search committee that reached out to 140 leaders and selected from a pool of more than 40 highly qualified candidates.”

       “Replacing a legendary figure like Laurence was a difficult task for all of us,” board Chair Donovan Pepper said in the release. “Joe brings remarkable depth and breadth of experience to our team and has a tremendous passion for ensuring our local and state governments work effectively, efficiently and inclusively for all citizens.”

       Ferguson announced his exit from the Office of the Inspector General in July 2021, as his relationship with Mayor Lori Lightfoot frayed. Lightfoot said his successor as inspector general needed to understand the importance of “staying in their lane.”

       For his part, Ferguson criticized City Hall after stepping down as inspector general for not doing enough on police reforms and said Lightfoot’s administration “lacks competencies.”

       “I think some of the public perception of me has to do with the fact that in the role you have as inspector general, that poking is directly at power,” Ferguson said.

       Now, it’s about collaboration, he said. “The watchwords and the statutory terms for inspectors general are to promote economy, efficiency, effectiveness and integrity in government operations. Effectiveness and efficiency with mindfulness, always of the economy, are at the core of the stated mission” of the Civic Fed, Ferguson said.

       “This merely isn’t a generational inflection point for the Civic Federation, which in 130 years has gracefully moved through all sorts of turbulent times, but it’s also one for the city,” he said. “The real challenges are upon the city. That has a direct relationship to the state and our viability as a world class city in the 21st century. … I’m pumped and looking forward to this new form of engagement around a set of issues we all know we need to get to.”

       After leaving the city, Ferguson was a fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and launched an organization, (re)Chicago, dedicated to aligning the city’s governance structure “with 21st century challenges, needs and values” — including creating a new city charter that would empower members of the City Council.

       He has been a lecturer at Loyola University Chicago since 2011 and since 2022 at UChicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

       aquig@chicagotribune.com

       Originally Published: Dec 12, 2023 at 11:59 am