Fired staffers claim retaliation by mayor's team
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference with (on his immediate right) chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas and former deputy mayor of community safety Garien Gatewood. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Three recently fired city leaders are painting a picture of a hostile or retaliatory environment in the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his top appointees.
Why it matters: Their accusations, taken together, suggest a pattern that Johnson's office has yet to fully address.
Axios has repeatedly asked Johnson's office for comment on the claims but received no response.
Catch up quick: The firings are linked by claims of retaliation — for disagreement with top mayoral appointees, complaints against them, or cooperating with investigations.
Garien Gatewood, the former deputy mayor for community safety, was fired on March 19 by Johnson's top aide, Jason Lee, and chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas.
- Gatewood says this happened after he filed a complaint with the inspector general in October.
- "There have been multiple instances when you attempt to hold senior leadership accountable, there's a target put on your back," Gatewood told the Sun-Times without detailing the nature of the complaint.
- At a Tuesday press conference, Johnson said he was unaware of the IG complaint before he fired Gatewood.
- The IG's office told Axios it could not confirm or deny the filing of the complaint.
Manny Whitfield, the city's director of violence prevention who worked closely with Gatewood on successful violence reduction campaigns, was also fired on March 19. He says he was dismissed after putting an employee close to the mayor on probation.
- A group of South Side community safety groups issued a letter last week expressing "immense disappointment" in the dismissals.
- Asked about the effect of the firings on violence progress, the mayor said Tuesday that he doesn't believe a "single individual is responsible" for the violence reduction.
Kim Grigsby, former deputy commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, filed a March 20 lawsuit against the city and Johnson's pick for DCASE chief, saying she was fired after she was called to testify in an IG investigation against senior leaders.
The latest: Nancy Andrade, the city's human relations commissioner, resigned this week, citing her wish to uphold the commission's "strict code of ethics."
- Commission member Dan Goldwin told the Sun-Times that the resignation stemmed from a commission report on antisemitic attacks that the mayor's office "whitewashed" and broadened to include other kinds of attacks.
- Andrade's resignation letter did not mention that report.
What we're watching: If and when results of the reported IG investigations bear out the claims by these former employees.