A Republican lawmaker is taking a victory lap after the mayor of Chicago reportedly agreed to donate the contents of a “secret gift room” to charity, days after he was grilled about it at a House hearing.
“Just days after I forced corrupt @ChicagosMayor to answer for his secret gift room, he’s making the gifts public. They are now being donated to charity,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said on X.
“Chicago is a Sanctuary City that harbors criminal illegal aliens who are terrorizing the American people. Mayor Brandon Johnson has been a major proponent and defender of Sanctuary cities,” Gill continued. “At the same time, he was accepting luxurious gifts from undisclosed sources.”
Gill had quizzed Mayor Brandon Johnson about gifts he received, including Hugo Boss cuff links and a personalized Montblanc pen, at a House Oversight Committee hearing on sanctuary cities last week.
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“I did not receive those personally, the city of Chicago received those,” Johnson said. “Those are not my personal gifts, those are the gifts of the city of Chicago, and that’s why you’re aware they exist.”
After that hearing, ABC7 Chicago reported on what it described as “the mayor’s gift room.” Gifts included a Kate Spade woman’s handbag, T-shirts and coffee mugs, some of which predate Johnson taking office. Others included a signed Chicago Bulls jersey and a NASCAR race suit.
The outlet reported that all the items are now categorized on a city website that lists when they were given and by whom. The gifts will be donated to charities on a rotating basis and the mayor’s office is opening the gift room to the public one day per quarter by appointment, the outlet reported.
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The questioning came after a critical Chicago inspector general report, which criticized a lack of transparency and reported that 70% of gifts had no record of the identity of who provided the gifts. The room contained more than 300 gifts.
“When gifts are changing hands—perhaps literally—in a windowless room in City Hall, there is no opportunity for oversight and public scrutiny of the propriety of such gifts, the identities and intentions of the gift-givers, or what it means for gifts like whiskey, jewelry, handbags, and size 14 men’s shoes to be accepted ‘on behalf of the City,’” the report said.
The city didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Gill linked the room to the ongoing controversy surrounding “sanctuary” cities, which limit the ability of state and local enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“While this new-found transparency is welcome, it isn’t enough. Sanctuary city policies must end now. Our elected officials have a duty to American citizens, not illegal aliens,” he said.
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