2 City Managers Fired, 2 Suspended Over IG Probe

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Chicago Health Department managers have been fired and two others have been suspended without pay after the inspector general's office found they allegedly falsified time records.

A deputy commissioner was fired Friday for allegedly failing to show up for work on some Fridays and Mondays and then falsifying work records to get paid for those days anyway. An inspector general's office investigation found it happened "intermittently" over the last 18 months, according to the inspector general's quarterly report.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bechara Choucair initiated disciplinary action against 21 employees -- 17 identified in the IG investigation and four others found violating rules in a separate investigation by Choucair's department. Two of the employees cited in the IG investigation were given stiffer punishment than Ferguson recommended.

Neither the IG report nor a Public Health department statement offered employee names, nor details of the alleged personnel rule violations.

In all, two employees were put on the city's "do not re-hire" list. One staffer who resigned prior to being notified of disciplinary action will be listed as "resigned under inquiry" in personnel records.

"A violation of an employee's fiduciary duty to the public we serve is a serious offense," Choucair said in a statement.

(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)