He spent 12 years as the corruption-busting watchdog of Chicago government — proving to be a thorn in the side of both the Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations.

Now, former Inspector General Joe Ferguson has a new role as head of the esteemed fiscal watchdog group the Civic Federation.

“Chicago Tonight” viewers might recall former Civic Federation President Laurence Msall on the show imploring elected officials to practice fiscal responsibility.

How will Ferguson carry forward that legacy?

“We’re going to have to continue to strike the exact same notes as Lawrence,” Ferguson said. “But also, what needs to happen here is stitching together, sometimes competing and sometimes antagonistically competing, partisan parties to come together to recognize that we really are especially at the city level, facing a cliff.”

Sarah Wetmore, the organization’s vice president and research director, who also served as acting president, called Msall’s legacy the “gold standard of nonpartisan advocacy.” She said Ferguson brings the passion, credibility and knowledge to fill those shoes.

Looking ahead, Ferguson said he hopes to use this position to elevate government standards, make government more efficient and hold it accountable.

“It’s been almost a generation since there’s been a meaningful examination of city and county redundancy and operations,” he said.

Ultimately, Ferguson who, like his predecessor, plans to continue having direct conversations with the city’s public officials, said this communication is the way to achieve the goals of the Civic Federation.

“The mission can’t be achieved unless there is that dialogue,” Ferguson said. “You need to bring the diverse constituencies together; you need to get folks talking across the aisle. And that only happens through relationship building.”