Paul Goodrich, former chief operating officer (COO) of Chicago’s City Hall under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, has recently come under scrutiny amid a hiring and contracting controversy involving a city contractor and financial difficulties in his personal history.
Goodrich was appointed COO in 2021 after a career in banking, with Lightfoot describing him as a seasoned executive experienced in business and operations. However, neither Lightfoot’s administration nor the city initially disclosed that Goodrich had faced several liens from the Internal Revenue Service totaling over $90,000 due to unpaid federal income taxes. Public records reveal a series of financial challenges for Goodrich and his wife, Valerie, a Department of Veterans Affairs doctor, spanning nearly two decades. These include contractor liens related to a home remodel, multiple IRS tax liens between 2014 and 2018, credit card debt lawsuits following Goodrich’s departure from City Hall, and foreclosure actions on their residence. Some of the liens and debts have been resolved, while others remain active.
City officials have stated that Goodrich underwent a rigorous vetting process before his hiring, which is standard for senior city appointments. A spokeswoman for Lightfoot noted that the administration relied on information provided by the city’s Department of Human Resources and that no red flags from the vetting process were recalled. A city source acknowledged that the background check uncovered financial difficulties, but withheld further details. Goodrich himself denied knowledge of any issues that might have disqualified him and described the vetting as thorough.
The current controversy centers on allegations that Goodrich, while serving as COO, assisted contractor Robert Blackwell Jr. in expanding his company’s city IT contracts by nearly $9.6 million. At the same time, Goodrich’s son secured a paid internship with Blackwell’s company, EKI-Digital, a connection that has raised concerns of a possible conflict of interest or improper influence. Goodrich has denied any quid pro quo, stating the interactions with Blackwell were related strictly to city IT projects and that the internship arrangement was unrelated.
The dispute surfaced shortly after Lightfoot lost her reelection bid in 2023. Blackwell submitted invoices totaling $9.6 million for work that City Hall staff and later Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration deemed unauthorized and improper. Johnson’s team determined that Blackwell should be paid only $600,000 under the existing contract and is seeking to ban EKI-Digital from receiving future city contracts. This was based in part on findings from the city’s Office of the Inspector General, which reported that invoices contained false claims and billing irregularities and that Goodrich attempted to facilitate improper payments while his child worked for the contractor. The inspector general also concluded that the expanded work was not formally authorized.
Blackwell is contesting the proposed ban with legal representation from Mara Georges, a former senior City Hall attorney. If proceedings move forward, it is expected that Goodrich and other current or former officials may be called to testify.
The city’s Board of Ethics investigated related claims against Goodrich and Blackwell, ultimately closing the case in May without filing charges. However, the board identified minor ethics violations by Goodrich for using city email to communicate about his son and issued a confidential admonition.
Goodrich has publicly distanced himself from Mayor Lightfoot since leaving city government, characterizing their relationship as distant and noting that he had volunteered on her 2018 mayoral campaign. Prior to his city role, Goodrich held a consulting contract with Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism bureau, under Executive Director David Whitaker, without Lightfoot’s involvement.
As scrutiny of the contracting scandal continues, questions persist about the intersections of personal and professional ties within City Hall during Lightfoot’s administration and the financial background of key figures involved.