Chicago aviation workers asked to chip in for boss's birthday party, probe launched

CHICAGO - It's always fun to celebrate the boss's birthday. At least until the boss's employees are asked to pony up cash.

That's what happened recently at Chicago's Department of Aviation, where some workers were stunned to be invited to contribute money for the birthday celebration of a top department official.

The backstory:

Fox Chicago has learned the office birthday party for the city's First Deputy Aviation Commissioner is now under investigation by Chicago's Inspector General. That investigation was triggered after employees who work for the commissioner received an email and flyer with a rather unusual request.

Tracey Payne has served as the Chicago Department of Aviation's First Deputy Commissioner since being appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson a little more than a year ago.

On May 19, Aviation Department employees received an email and a flyer inviting them "to the birthday luncheon celebrating our First Deputy at the official First Deputy Day."

At the bottom of the flyer are the words "Donations accepted."

"They should know that they're not supposed to send something like this out," said Alisa Kaplan, the executive director of reform for Illinois.

We showed Kaplan the flyer, which was attached to an email sent to city employees by Bernie Williams, a top official at the Department of Aviation. The email promises: "...a fun afternoon filled with good food, laughter and team fellowship as we celebrate someone who continuously supports CDA with leadership, dedication and a true commitment to our team… Donations are appreciated and accepted in whatever amount you would like to contribute… Please bring cash donations to Jeanette, Carrie or Marie by tomorrow at 5:00 PM."

"It's not something I would have liked to receive as an employee," said Kaplan. "And I could see how it would put pressure on the employees to do something that they might not necessarily want to do."

An airport source tells Fox Chicago a number of employees gave between $30-$50 apiece to help pay for the catered party held in a conference room.

What they're saying:

While city ethics rules allow for some exceptions, guidelines from the Chicago Board of Ethics state: "Official superiors may never coerce their subordinates into giving or contributing to or for any gift."

As for office parties, they're okay as long as it's "any token item or gift card worth $10 or less, but no cash," according to the guidelines.

"And the reason is exactly to prevent this kind of thing, where you don't want employees to feel coerced to spend their own money on especially a supervisor," said Kaplan. "Because a supervisor has that power over you. And your position in the workplace shouldn't be based on whether you donated to their birthday gift or anything like that."

We sent the Department of Aviation a list of questions about the party but received only a brief response: "The Chicago Department of Aviation has referred the matter to the Office of Inspector General."

Kaplan said it appears what happened was more of an earnest mistake than anything nefarious. "It certainly sounds like more training would be in order to prevent it from happening again."

What's next:

It's unclear whether any of the cash that was raised was used to purchase gifts for the First Deputy Commissioner or whether she was even aware that employees were being invited to chip in.

Either way, ethics experts say it's never a good idea to ask for cash in the workplace, especially when you work in a government office.

We reached out to both Payne and Williams directly but have not yet heard back.

ChicagoNews