Racism, Sexism At Chicago Water: Official Suspended
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
New developments came to light this week in the ongoing story of racism and sexism within the Chicago water department.
“Chicago water department supervisor was suspended for failing to report offensive emails including one that suggested then-President Barack Obama being bid on at a Southern slave auction, according to the city inspector general’s final report summarizing its investigation into racist and sexist emails shared among workers,” The Chicago Tribune reported.
“Inspector General Joseph Ferguson recommended three additional Department of Water Management employees be disciplined for their roles in the email scandal. It led to resignations of much of its leadership and vows from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office to combat harassment and discrimination in what critics saw as a racist and misogynistic department,” the report said.
The developments mean that a total of seven water department employees will be disciplined for their actions related to racist and sexist emails, the report said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Water Commissioner Randy Conner after the revelation of racist, sexist, and homophobic emails in the water department triggered the firing of the previous commissioner, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
An investigation by Project Six, a nonprofit, found that workers of color have been threatened with “small knives, racist signs and copies of Mein Kampf,” Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, according to News One.
A city spokesperson stated that Chicago has a “zero-tolerance policy for racism, sexism, homophobia or religious discrimination of any kind,” according to The Chicago Tribune.
The spokesperson stated that the new water department commissioner “took appropriate disciplinary actions in each instance, which included suspensions and terminations. Any reports of inappropriate actions continue to be taken very seriously, investigated immediately and dealt with regardless of job title.”