CHICAGO (WLS) — The battle is heating up over the future leadership structure at the Chicago Housing Authority.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’s demoted the current CHA Board Chairman Matthew Brewer in what comes down to a power struggle over the next CEO.
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The CHA Board went through a lengthy search process to find the next CEO, announcing the decision at its March meeting. The problem was they didn’t pick Mayor Johnson’s political ally who he wanted to lead the agency. Now, the mayor is fighting back.
CHA Operating Chairman Matthew Brewer, sitting in the same room where the board recently voted 7-2 to approve the hiring of its next CEO, pushed back Thursday against this week’s mayoral maneuverings around CHA leadership.
“It appears that he’s trying to undo the work that this board has done, and put us back in a position without a CEO indefinitely so that he can try to put in his own person,” Brewer said.
The CHA Board selected Keith Pettigrew to be the next CEO. He’s a veteran public housing executive who most recently led the Washington, D.C. Housing Authority.
That ran afoul of Mayor Johnson’s desire to install his hand-picked political ally, former alderman Walter Burnett Jr., as CEO. The board deemed him unqualified for the job. Burnett, who is a CHA landlord, has not received a required waiver from HUD to be CEO.
“That appointment has been troubled since the very beginning, and it’s clear that the mayor is probably not going to get his way on this and that he should move on,” ABC7 Political Analyst Laura Washington said. “And it’s just curious as to why the mayor wants to continue this fight.”
The mayor’s battle with current CHA leadership includes demoting Brewer as Chairman of the Board, replacing him with his ally commissioner Jawanza Malone. He could not be reached for comment.
The mayor also is challenging Brewer’s authority as Operating Chairman. 14 1:15
“Only the board has the authority to give me that title and those responsibilities, and the mayor doesn’t have the ability to remove that,” Brewer said.
Pettigrew, who was not available for an interview with ABC7, has a clause in his four-year contract that says he can’t be fired in the first year except for cause.
The mayor’s office says Brewer and the board violated the open meeting act, which invalidates Pettrigrew’s hiring. Brewer says Mayor Johnson is putting politics over people.
“Chicago is at a pivotal point, and decisions that we make now can impact us for decades,” Brewer said.
The battle could very well wind up in court. But in the meantime, incoming CEO Keith Pettigrew is expected to start in his new role on April 20.
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