Mayor Johnson says staff changes were ‘personal decisions' despite housecleaning promise
Mayor Brandon Johnson downplayed the recent departures of some top city officials Tuesday, arguing the exits that came days after he hinted he was rooting out disloyal staff were 'personal decisions' the outgoing employees made themselves, not firings.
'These are very personal decisions that people make,' Johnson said, citing the retirements of CTA President Dorval Carter and Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee.
Johnson's defense came a week after he told the crowd at a South Side church event last Monday he wished he 'would have cleaned house faster' while suggesting he would start getting rid of people. 'If you ain't with us, you just gotta go,' he told the church crowd.
The departures of four city leaders were announced Thursday.
In statements that day, his administration framed the departures of Rhee and Jose Tirado, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, as a 'retirement' and a 'transition,' respectively.
Also announced were the departures of Civilian Office of Police Accountability chief administrator Andrea Kersten, who Johnson did not have the power to fire, and the mayor's own chief strategy officer, Joe Calvello, who Johnson hired last March.
Asked Tuesday if he would soon fire other employees, Johnson said he does not 'discuss personnel issues' and 'this is not about one individual' before instead highlighting several favorite policies. But despite distancing himself from the staff changes, Johnson maintained he was nonetheless 'elected to disrupt the status quo.'
'The last time we've seen this type of response to a mayor was 40 years ago,' Johnson said, an apparent reference to the broad opposition from white aldermen to Mayor Harold Washington, the city's first Black mayor. 'There are individuals who have been stuck in the past, maintaining the status quo, and there are a number of people who understand what this unique moment in our city's history requires.'
Also Tuesday, Johnson said that ahead of his March 5 appearance in Congress at a hearing focused on 'sanctuary city' policies, his team is coordinating with leaders in New York, Boston and Denver, who are also testifying.
The mayor said his team is organizing requested records ahead of the hearing called for by House Republican leaders. He plans to highlight the economic benefit of immigration and 'show up for working people,' he added.
As the government of President Donald Trump targets the city — including earlier this month with a Department of Justice lawsuit aimed at curbing Chicago's sanctuary policies — it is 'imperative in this moment that we don't flinch or cower to the intimidating tactics that are ultimately trying to get us to disrupt the evolution of our democracy,' Johnson said.
'The people of Chicago will be on center stage. I'm representing the values of Chicago,' he said. 'We're not going to allow someone to put us in a position where we surrender our humanity.'
He added that he has no current plans to meet with Trump and said Trump's administration has not shared information regarding the number of deportation arrests made in Chicago in recent weeks.
Also Tuesday, Johnson defended his handling of an Inspector General's Office report dinged the mayor for blocking investigators from gaining access to City Hall's 'gift room,' where the administration is supposed to store gifts the mayor receives.
In response to the IG's criticism, Johnson released a 20-second video last week showing the contents of the 'gift room.' Asked if it was still an issue that there is no public access to the gift room, the mayor insisted the short, grainy video is sufficient alongside the updated gift log his team put online.
'You do have access to it,' Johnson said. 'There's a public log. We put out a video, we'll do that on a regular basis. It's unprecedented, no other administration has done that.'
The mayor also highlighted his priorities in Springfield as Gov. JB Pritzker and the General Assembly craft a budget. He will try to secure more funding for bilingual learning and special education, as well as the city's transit systems, he said. Johnson also promised 'conversations' about the state's now-expired personal property replacement tax.
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