Chicago reduces its credit card total to eight

Chicago’s staff, which once possessed about 500 credit cards, will now have access to just eight due to a crackdown by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Alleged credit card abuse resulted in the ouster earlier this year of the heads of the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Park District. As a result, Emanuel reduced the number of credit cards to 30. Now, there will be no more than eight in the hands of top executives.

In a statement Thursday, Emanuel noted the lax policies in place when he became mayor “allowed city employees to treat a city credit card as their personal expense accounts.”

Investigations by various agencies and news outlets found city-issued credit cards were used for holiday parties, meals at upscale restaurants, flowers, cakes and gifts for staff members.