INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 2 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Re-Farm-ation: Reforming American Crop Subsidies to Promote Healthier Diets and Better Lives

April 11, 2025health

Today, ultra-processed foods make up approximately 60% of the average American adult diet, and 70% of American children’s diets. These highly processed diets are coupled with an increase in obesity, from approximately 15% in the 1970s to 40% today. The increase in American consumption of ultra-processed foods is a key contributor to increased obesity and related comorbidities that shorten American lives compared to other similarly situated wealthy countries. American agriculture is directly contributing to this issue through government grants, programs, and subsidies that encourage the production of crops like corn, sugar, and oilseeds that are often made into ultra-processed foods. Subsidy reforms can reduce Americans’ consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods and promote healthier diets.

heathsubsidiesUSDA

They Came for the Neighbors: The Deportation of Lawfully Present Immigrants

April 10, 2025International Affairs, National Security

Andry José Hernández Romero was detained for suspected involvement with a notorious Venezuelan crime organization. The evidence? Two crown tattoos atop the words “Mom” and “Dad” on his wrists. A gay makeup artist, Romero fled his home country of Venezuela to escape persecution for his sexuality and political beliefs. Romero is only one of many non-citizens who, despite being lawfully present in the U.S., face unprecedented risk of deportation due to little more than superficial characteristics under Trump’s aggressive immigration tactics.

Department of Homeland SecurityImmigrationImmigration and Customs Enforcement

Six Years Later – Is the Chicago Police Consent Decree Working?

April 9, 2025Department of Justice

Six years ago, the City of Chicago (the City) entered into a consent decree establishing a framework for sweeping reform of the policies and operations of the Chicago Police Department and the City. This major reform effort was initiated after Chicago police officers shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014. Chicago’s consent decree is aimed at addressing concerns in several areas, especially police accountability and officer misconduct. Oversight is done by the Independent Monitoring Team, which reviews and assesses the City’s compliance. After almost six and a half years, the City is nowhere close to fulfilling the requirements. Even worse, Chicagoans have little faith that the City will ever reach full compliance.

ChicagoCity of Chicagocomplianceconsent decreeCPDcriminal lawDOJenforcementJournal of Regulatory Compliance

From Spreadsheets to Statutes: KPMG Enters into Law

April 9, 2025Finance & Banking, Regulation

The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the accounting firm Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) to enter the practice of law. KMPG will be the first Big Four accounting firm to open its own law firm. This approval has created a stir in the legal community due to conflict and ethical compliance concerns. Although KPMG only has received approval in Arizona, there could be potential issues regarding conflicts, ethical challenges, and fair competition.

accountingAIAI toolsartificial intelligencecomplianceconflictsEthicsEYKPMGlawlegalPwCtax

The European Union’s Antitrust Actions Against Google and Apple: The Last Soldier of Big Tech Regulation

April 6, 2025International Affairs, technology

Due to President Trump’s focus on weakening regulations on big technology companies, the European Union (EU) finds itself once again at the forefront of regulating big tech to ensure fair competition within digital markets. The EU’s recent actions, as of March 19, 2025, accuse Google and Apple of antitrust violations, a move that may increase geopolitical tensions as President Trump has made it clear he will protect American companies from “overseas extortion.” The EU remains one of the few remaining checks on the power of big tech.

Appleeuropean uniongoogleRegulationtechTrump

The IRS-ICE Data Sharing Deal: A New Era of Regulatory Compliance Challenges

April 3, 2025Privacy & Security, tax

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly nearing an agreement to share limited taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), marking a significant departure in tax enforcement and immigration policy. This potential deal would allow ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify whether names and addresses match filed tax records, purportedly to facilitate immigration enforcement efforts. However, this agreement raises concerns about taxpayer privacy, legal and corporate compliance, and potential declines in tax participation, which could undermine both federal revenue tax collection and trust in the tax system.

data privacyICEImmigrationincome taxIRS

Trump IRS Downsizing Could Lead to $500B in Lost Tax Revenue for the Federal Government

April 3, 2025Regulation, tax

As part of the Trump administration’s broad efforts to downsize the federal government, it reportedly plans to cut more than 20% of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) workforce by mid-May 2025. This planned reduction in staff follows the nearly 6,700 probationary IRS employees already fired by the administration and the 4,700 employees who left the IRS after accepting the administration’s “voluntary buyout” offer. In total, reports indicate that the Trump administration could reduce the IRS workforce by nearly half its current size. Downsizing of this magnitude could greatly impact the amount of tax revenue collected by the IRS as there may no longer be adequate staffing to conduct large audits and complete other tax collection efforts. In fact, these cuts have led Treasury Department and IRS officials to project a decrease of up to 10% in federal tax collection compared to 2024, representing over $500 billion in lost revenue for the federal government. This level of reduced tax collection would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans, while low- and middle-income individuals would be the most impacted by the likely continuation of offsetting funding cuts to public welfare and services.

Government debtgovernment downsizingIRSIRS downsizingtax revenue

The NCAA’s Gamble on Sports Betting Tech

April 2, 2025Athletic Regulation, technology

March Madness is among the most anticipated sporting events of the year, with millions of viewers and billions of dollars in wagers making it one of the busiest times for college sports betting. However, rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the U.S. has introduced significant regulatory challenges for the NCAA, colleges, and the compliance community. With an estimated $31 billion wagered in the 2025 tournament alone, ensuring conformity with NCAA sports betting regulations has become increasingly complex. To address these challenges, the NCAA has turned to advanced compliance technology, like Prohibet and Integrity Compliance (IC360), to monitor and enforce wagering restrictions.

College SportsNCAAregulatory complianceSportssports gamblingtechnology

Chicago’s Battle for Affordable Housing

March 28, 2025Compliance Spotlight, Journal of Regulatory Compliance, Regulation, tax

As Chicago grapples with a severe affordable housing shortage—an estimated 119,000 units short—the city continues to experiment with policy solutions. More than half of Chicagoans are rent-burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. In response, city leaders have turned to tax abatements and zoning mandates to increase the supply of affordable housing. Two key programs—the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program (AHSAP) and the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)—represent different approaches to tackling this crisis. Chicago’s affordable housing crisis requires a multifaceted approach, and while the AHSAP and ARO offer valuable incentives and mandates, neither alone is sufficient to address the city’s deep-rooted affordability and racial equity challenges.

Affordable HousingAffordable housing development ChicagoChicago Department of HousingHousingSam Paler-Poncetax

FIRM Act Sent to Senate to Vote on Eliminating the Use of Reputational Risk in Banking

March 27, 2025Banking, Finance & Banking

On March 6, 2025, the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Tim Scott, introduced a bill designed to eliminate reputational risk as a component of regulatory supervision in banking. The Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, or FIRM Act, is the latest edition in the Senate’s efforts to reduce the potential influence of banking regulators in perpetuating debanking schemes of various industries. The bill has received praise and support from many leaders and industry groups in the banking industry including a letter of support from a coalition of 26 state financial officers and comments in favor of the bill submitted by the American Bankers Association (ABA). On March 13, 2025, the Senate Banking Committee voted in favor of sending the bill to the Senate to begin congressional voting. While it remains debatable if reputational risk is being misused to politically influence the types of clients that banks service, it is clear that reputational risk in regulatory exams is an unnecessary extension of strategic risk that should be removed from examinations to close the door to any possibilities of political misuse.

BankingCongressDebankingFDICFederal Reservefinancial regulationFIRM ActOCCRegulatory ExamReputational RiskRisk Assessment