In a surprise move, Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson will be reappointed to another four-year term at his post -- though he will step down after serving just a year of it, per an unwritten understanding.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Ferguson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrived at the decision during a Friday meeting which was their first sit down over the course of the more than two years Ferguson has served under Emanuel.
Ferguson and Emanuel have butted heads publicly over the corruption-busting Inspector General's criticisms of the mayor's claims that the new garbage collection grid system was saving the city $18 million annually. Their relationship was also strained by Ferguson's calling into question the locations of the city's revenue-generating red-light cameras and his suggestion that almost 300 of the city's police positions should be converted to civilian posts.
Emanuel has also stood in opposition to Ferguson's pursuit of broader subpoena power in a battle that reached the Illinois Supreme Court.
Ferguson, who had previously been told he would need to re-apply his job, is expected to stay in his $161,856-per-year post through next summer so that he can "see the city to full Shakman compliance" and tend to other unfinished business, the mayor said in a statement reported by the Sun-Times.
Ferguson's reappointment will still need to be confirmed by the City Council.
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