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New York Attorney Recommended For City Council Inspector General

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A blue-ribbon committee has recommended an outsider to take the new position of Chicago legislative inspector general – the watchdog who would keep an eye on the City Council.

As WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports, the panel set up by the City Council interviewed about 30 candidates. The group is now recommending veteran New York attorney Faisal Khan for the post.

Khan is a former inspector general for the New York City Department of Investigations, and was a former assistant district attorney.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel applauds the City Council for taking the step, and powerful Ald. Edward Burke (14th) says he believes Khan will receive the necessary two-thirds vote to be confirmed.

"I believe that this gentleman represents a good choice. I'm prepared to vote for him, and I think that the majority of the Council will also," Burke said.

City Inspector General Joseph Ferguson has long maintained that his office should oversee investigations of the City Council.

The Council began putting out applications for the new post on April 1, after voting nearly a year earlier to create the position.

The selection panel was chaired by former Cook County Circuit Court Judge Julia Nowicki, who was once the monitor for the city's compliance with the Shakman decree against political hiring.

Backers have said a City Council inspector general won't simply do the mayor's bidding, but critics have said the inspector general will be too close to the Council to be effective.

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