I like to read contracts generated by the City of Chicago. They help me understand how things work. I don’t mean to be coy or world-weary about that. I just mean that when we’re forced to codify what we’re willing to pay for, we expose ourselves.
I also like the Office of the Inspector General of the City of Chicago. It is an under-appreciated institution. I know that the sexy Parking Meter Report got much love from citizens, and that David Hoffman, the recent Inspector General, received a shit-ton (& not enough) of votes for US Senate. But I mean underappreciated on a daily, grind-it-out basis.
Just take a look at some recent work product:
Inspector General’s Office Report on Budget Options for the City
Inspector General’s Office Quarterly Report
IGO Audit of Department of Aviation Overtime
IGO Review of the Efficiency of the HRAIL Program
Recommendation to Implement GPS Technology in Chicago Taxicabs
Inspector General’s Office Quarterly Report
IGO Issues Report Concerning Overtime Payments
IGO Audit Report Findings and Recommendations to Address Inadequate Controls TIF Expenditures
That’s a lot of work.
So I took some time over the last few days to cozy up with one of these reports– IGO Review of the Efficiency of the HRAIL Program –and a number of the contracts that spun from a close reading of the document.
One of my favorite phrases is RTFM — Read The Fucking Manual. As a corrolary, I have developed a line of journalism called RTFPDF — Read the fucking PDF. In this particular strain of journalism, one mixes a Derrida-like appreciation of reading with the downloadable joy of Adobe. Just read it. Don’t call anyone, don’t