CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Will Mayor Lightfoot reappoint Inspector General Joe Ferguson next year? She insinuated Thursday that she would not.
According to the Sun-Times, Joe Ferguson's inspector general term expires next year and the Mayor said she is someone who favors term limits.
"Joe Ferguson has been in office for a really long time…He's to be commended for the really good and hard work that he and his team have done on investigations, but particularly on the auditing work. But you know I'm somebody who favors term limits. And I don't think people should stay in office indefinitely. I don't think it's good for them. And I don't think it's good for the organization that they lead," Lightfoot told the Sun-Times.
"August, when his term is up, feels like a thousand years from now. There's a lot that will happen between now and then. And we'll have a conversation with Joe and obviously commemorate and highlight the good work that's been done over his tenure as IG. But, that's not a priority consideration for me right now."
When Ferguson was appointed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2009 to replace departing Inspector General David Hoffman, Lightfoot was among those who vouched for and recommended her friend Ferguson.
When she took office, the Mayor agreed to keep Ferguson on, despite their friendship and the possibility of conflict of interest. And last year, Ferguson said he would "pull the ripcord" if his friendship with the mayor posed a conflict.
According to the Sun-Times, since the Mayor took office, the old friends haven't talked for months and there have been tensions behind the scenes.
