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Chicago Office of Inspector General

Language Access

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Access Our Office in Multiple Languages

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) will make reasonable efforts to provide language assistance for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) persons. The threshold for the provision of language access services is an LEP population speaking a language that constitutes 5% of the City of Chicago’s population or 10,000 individuals, whichever is less. Under these standards, as determined by the Mayor’s Office of New Americans, certain City departments are required to provide services in Spanish, Mandarin, Polish, Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu. OIG will assess the LEP population it serves using the four-factor analysis issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2002*. For LEP persons whose primary language is not Spanish, Mandarin, Polish, Arabic, Hindi, or Urdu, OIG will consider translation/interpretation services on a case-by-case basis. Language assistance OIG may provide to LEP persons includes, but is not limited to: 

  • Telephonic interpretation line 
  • Written translation services 
  • Oral interpretation services 

For more information, see OIG’s Language Access Policy or contact OIG’s access coordinator at oigaccess@igchicago.org. 

* The four factors are: the services the recipient offers, the community the recipient serves, the resources the recipient possesses, and the costs of various language service options. Read the DOJ Final LEP Guidance here.