Chicago inspector general Deborah Witzburg has recommended a top advisor to Mayor Brandon Johnson be fired and placed on a do not hire list for failing to cooperate with an investigation into City Hall’s handling of a negotiation with an alderman .

Johnson declined to fire the advisor, senior Jason Lee, and denied that he failed to cooperate with the investigation.

The back and forth was revealed in a summary report released Wednesday by the city’s top watchdog. Lee is not named by the inspector general’s office, which is generally prohibited from identifying officials by name, but he called the Tribune to defend his handling of the case.

Witzburg’s report stems from fall 2023 encounters between Lee and Ald. Bill Conway. At the time, Johnson was pushing an increased real estate trans

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