Chicago Housing Authority Office of the Inspector General wins National Award for Excellence

CHICAGO (April 15, 2025): The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has been awarded a 2024 Exemplary Knighton Award for best performance audit among local government audit organizations of similar size across the U.S. and Canada. This national award from the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) recognizes excellence in local government performance audits among its over 300 member organizations.

CHA’s OIG will receive the award at the 2025 ALGA Annual Conference, which is being held May 4-7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The winning report, Audit of Public Housing Capital Construction Change Orders and Supplemental Contracts, was judged on several key elements, such as the potential for significant impact, the persuasiveness of the conclusions, the focus on improving government efficiency and effectiveness, and its clarity and conciseness. Judges from peer organizations determined this audit was among the best of 2024.

CHA Inspector General Kathryn Richards acknowledged the award saying: “I am incredibly proud of our Audit Team for this remarkable accomplishment and grateful to ALGA for recognizing the OIG’s work. I’m especially encouraged to see that CHA management is fully engaging with the report’s recommendations to improve operations and ensure quality, cost effective repairs at CHA’s public housing units.”

CHA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer Angela Hurlock praised the work of the Inspector General’s Office, saying: “We are grateful to the Office of the Inspector General for identifying opportunities to improve our contracting processes and for holding us accountable where we fell short. In this Year of Renewal, we have made real and meaningful changes in response to the findings presented in this audit and we will continue to work to address these issues in the future. Thank you to ALGA for recognizing this outstanding team’s work.”

“I would like to offer my congratulations to the Chicago Housing Authority’s OIG office for winning the Knighton Award. Not only did they win it, but they were recognized as Exemplary for the small audit shop – the highest honor in the category. This is a great achievement that recognizes the attention to detail that helps all housing authorities function at the highest level,” said CHA Board Chairman Matthew Brewer.   

Each year, local government audit organizations from around the U.S. and Canada submit their best performance audit reports for judging in the Knighton Awards program. The purpose of the competition is to improve government services by encouraging and increasing levels of excellence among local government auditors. Knighton Awards are given at two levels: Exemplary and Distinguished. 

The Association of Local Government Auditors is a national audit association founded in 1985. It is committed to supporting and improving local government auditing through advocacy, collaboration, education, and training, while upholding and promoting the highest standards of professional ethics. For more information on the ALGA, visit: https://algaonline.org/. 

About the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA): CHA is the third largest public housing authority in the nation and the largest single owner of rental housing in Chicago. Through its public housing and voucher programs, CHA serves 135,000 people in 65,000 households across all 77 of Chicago’s community areas. CHA’s mission is to create and sustain strong communities where seniors thrive and everyone can unlock their economic power, ensuring that every neighborhood in Chicago has quality affordable housing and everyone feels welcome. For more information, visit www.thecha.org