The Brief
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Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the former head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, agreed to pay a $150,000 fine for an ethics violation.
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The fine stemmed from when she resigned from her post at the IDPH to take a job as CEO of Sinai Chicago.
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An investigation found that by taking the job, Ezike violated the state’s “Revolving Door Prohibition” law.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the former head of the Illinois Department of Public Health who led the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was fined $150,000 for an ethics violation.
At issue was Ezike taking a job as CEO at Sinai Chicago hospital network, a medical nonprofit overseen and funded by the IDPH that she led until her resignation in March of 2022.
Violation of ‘revolving door’ law
Ezike admitted to unintentionally violating the state’s “revolving door prohibition” law, according to documents released by the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission.
The law prohibits certain high-ranking state officials from leaving their job and within a year going to work for a private or nonprofit entity that was awarded at least $25,000 in state contracts or that was subject to state regulation.
Sinai Chicago had contracts worth about $4.2 million with the IDPH in the year before Ezike resigned as director, according to the report.
In a filing, Ezike’s attorney said she accepted responsibility for the violation.
“[Ezike] thought she did everything right. She thought she was able to accept the job,” the filing said.
Ezike signed a contract to start as CEO of Sinai Chicago that June with an annual base salary of $760,000. A state watchdog agency started investigating Ezike’s departure in April 2022.
The parties chose to settle the matter with Ezike agreeing to accept responsibility for the violation. Still, her attorney said she did not knowingly or intentionally violate the law and relied on advice from staff and the opinion of her private attorney before accepting the new job.
