Will Former CTA Boss Throw His Deputy Under The Bus?

Few public officials are as relieved by the Olympics announcement as Chicago schools head and former Mayor Daley Chief of Staff Ron Huberman.  On the day Chicago lost the games to Rio, the city Inspector General’s office released a scathing report on a “significant management failure” by Huberman in 2005 when he was head of the city’s 911 system.  According to the report, irregualrities in procuring communcations hardware from Motorola cost taxpayers $2.25 million for no equipment delivered.  As Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times reports:

In an explosive new report, the city inspector general’s office characterizes Huberman as so derelict in the oversight of a contract with Motorola while he was executive director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications that he should be suspended if he still worked for the city.

Adrienne Hiegel, Huberman’s top deputy at OEMC in 2005, was accused of “altering documents” and failing to follow the city’s procurement procedures.

If Hiegel still worked for the city — instead of as a Huberman underling at the Board of Education — she should be fired, the 38-page report states.

At issue are the March 2005 signatures of Huberman and Hiegel on a voucher for 18,000 radio accessories supposedly delivered by Motorola. Only after they signed on the dotted line was the company paid the $2.25 million. It was the largest of 130 vouchers that Huberman signed during his 13-month stint at OEMC.

In fact, no such radio accessories were ever delivered by Motorola, nor did the city need them.

The relationship between the two public servants is persistent – Heigel has followed Huberman from office to office in the past.  Is this her stop, or did the Olympics news deluge keep her on board by bumping Huberman’s name off the front page?

via Report rips Huberman’s oversight of contracts :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall.