Chicago mayor’s attempt at transparency after being caught with ‘Gucci Gift Closet’ fails to deliver

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is under fire for accepting luxurious gifts, not reporting them, and then conducting a feeble attempt at transparency.

The story first broke in January when it was discovered that the mayor had an entire “gift room” for luxury items that allegedly included jewelry, alcohol, AirPods, designer handbags and men’s shoes, sparking ethical concerns.

BREAKING: Chicago’s Inspector General just released a report stating that Mayor Johnson’s office accepted gifts including jewelry, handbags, and alcohol “on behalf of the city” without publicly reporting them.

The mayor’s office also refused to make the mayor’s “gift room”… pic.twitter.com/fsWw4zE0y7

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 29, 2025

Video inside the mayor’s “Gucci gift closet” was released by the city in a bid for transparency after a watchdog group brought the allegations to the public and was called out by the Office of the Inspector General for failing to report the items.

INSIDE DA MAYOR’S GUCCI GIFT CLOSET. Under mounting public pressure and a new Chicago Ethics Board order, Mayor Brandon Johnson has just released this video of his luxury gift closet and a list of the items in it. Stay tuned. https://t.co/jgqH8szffu #thatreporter https://t.co/gyXWMsKWxs pic.twitter.com/Bye4Qidbny

— Reporter William J. Kelly #thatreporter (@Williamjkelly) February 12, 2025

The city also announced new protocols for accepting gifts that state “officials must report and properly log gifts within 10 days; store gifts in a designated area that can be viewed publicly via video recording quarterly; and donate excess gifts,” Fox News reported.

“These procedures reaffirm the Mayor’s commitment to ethical governance and transparency and ensure prompt disclosure of all gifts received on behalf of the City,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office, Fox reported.

Despite Johnson’s offices’ seemingly best efforts for feigned transparency, Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg told Fox News Digital that only some of items are visible in the 22-second video, presenting “practical challenges.”

“There are some things visible in the video which are maybe recognizable, but I don’t know that anybody is in a position to look at that video and find the pair of Hugo Boss cuff links or the personalized Montblanc pen,” Witzburg said. “I don’t know that it lends itself to that. I’m not sure whether it’s intended to.”

Witzburg also raised “deep concerns” over items that were logged without information about the gift givers, Fox reported.

“That continues to be really problematic,” Witzburg said. “It doesn’t suggest to me that, at least in that regard, we’ve made a lot of progress… We talk a lot about the fact that the City of Chicago operates at this deficit of legitimacy and that for decades and generations, the city has given no one any reason to afford the government the benefit of the doubt. And that really matters in a situation like this. Perhaps that video shows a room which appropriately contains everything on that list, but I’m not sure that we have given people any reason to think so.”

According to much of the reaction on X, Wizburg is right:

I wonder how much the Mayor paid for someone to stage this and take this video?

— Reporter William J. Kelly #thatreporter (@Williamjkelly) February 12, 2025

I’m sure many items received are no longer in that room. I don’t buy this video

— Chicago Trump Tower (@hockey_chicago) February 12, 2025

What a joke.. and they threaten the rest of the city employees with 8 hour suspensions if we don’t comply… yet this fool is grifting like there’s no tomorrow…

— Pat (@pat_America1st) February 12, 2025

People are just going to accept a video “self-audit”?

— Gandalf Greybush (@Black__Gandalf) February 12, 2025

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!