Eight other high-ranking officials have left the agency in the past year, including three who were fired. Various positions sit vacant or are led by interim leaders.<\/p>\n
Residents\u2019 frustration drags on as they say property conditions remain dire. The CHA serves more than 65,000 households and is the largest single owner of rental housing in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Jim Cunningham, who oversaw HUD\u2019s Midwest region until his retirement in March, said the CHA is \u201cfloundering.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is no vision from an executive, you are just, kind of, treading water,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cIf you are treading water in troubled seas, it can lead to missed opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
For its part, the CHA launched a series of initiatives \u2014 dubbed the agency\u2019s \u201cyear of renewal\u201d<\/a> \u2014 in February aimed at addressing \u201cpast challenges\u201d around transparency and engagement with residents. The agency conducted a resident survey to help guide its future priorities.<\/p>\n It created a new division<\/a> in April focused on environmental concerns, starting with lead-based paint hazards at its properties. The agency also set up a new department for internal audits, a task that had previously been handled by third parties. The property and asset management department was reorganized as well.<\/p>\n The CHA Board Chair and temporary Operating Chairman Matthew Brewer said he expects a permanent CEO to be appointed by the end of the year. The housing authority\u2019s last scheduled board meeting for 2025 is Tuesday, but the agency could add a special board meeting to the calendar.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize that sitting and waiting with your fingers crossed is not a strategy,\u201d Brewer said.<\/p>\n He also shared Cunningham\u2019s sentiment saying, \u201ctreading water means moving backwards for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The board can\u2019t consider Burnett as CEO until the agency receives HUD-approved conflict waivers \u2014 a process that was derailed due to the government shutdown.<\/p>\n Burnett\u2019s apparent conflicts of interest, according to the Chicago agency and HUD, lie with his 30-year record as alderman and long-time ownership of properties rented to housing voucher holders. Burnett and his wife have collected more than $260,000<\/a> since 2007 as the CHA voucher landlords.<\/p>\n The Chicago HUD office will review the waiver requests, make a recommendation to HUD officials in Washington, D.C., and send a formal response to the CHA.<\/p>\n Brewer said the board will consider other candidates and declined to comment on who is being considered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chicago Housing Authority Board Chair and temporary Operating Chairman Matthew Brewer at a special meeting of the CHA Board of Commissioners in September.<\/p>\n Not so happy New Year<\/p>\n The CHA took a gut punch at the start of the year when a jury decided in January the agency must pay more than $24 million to two residents who sued over lead paint poisoning<\/a> of their two children. The CHA is still contesting the ruling in court.<\/p>\n The property management companies The Habitat Co. and East Lake Management Group were also sued as part of the lawsuit, but they were found not liable for the children\u2019s injuries. The companies settled with the plaintiffs for around $200,000 and $400,000, respectively.<\/p>\n Habitat then sued the CHA and two of the agency\u2019s attorneys in February for breach of contract and legal malpractice over its handling of the lead poisoning lawsuit.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a slew of housing authority executives departed in January and February, adding to a string of departures that started August 2024.<\/p>\n Ryan Ross, who worked as a senior director of asset management, was terminated in September 2024 for breaking agency procedures, including one that cost the CHA over $19,000 in \u201cunnecessary expenses\u201d for construction work.<\/p>\n Ann McKenzie and Dan Cruz, who were chief development officer and chief of staff, respectively, were terminated earlier this year. The CHA didn\u2019t provide an explanation for their terminations, nor do public records show any history of disciplinary action.<\/p>\n Eric Garrett, the CHA\u2019s chief operating officer, resigned Jan. 3. Ellen Harris, former general counsel, resigned in August 2024, after allegations from staff that she created a \u201ctoxic work culture.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n Interim executives have remained, Brewer said, as he anticipates the new CEO will want to build their own team. He said the interim leaders are still moving the agency forward, but the lack of permanent leaders makes it \u201ctough.\u201d<\/p>\n The property and asset management department, overseen by two interim executives, was restructured to ensure the agency has a good handle on its \u201cfinancial management\u201d and \u201cbetter compliance and better controls in place,\u201d Brewer said. It also includes the new division focused on environmental hazards.<\/p>\n The new internal audit department helps with the compliance work and will hopefully lead to \u201ccost savings and less risk and better communication,\u201d Brewer said.<\/p>\n Residents say needs remain unmet<\/p>\n Etta Davis, a 12-year resident at Dearborn Homes in Douglas, said \u201ceverything is on hold\u201d at the community.<\/p>\n Residents at the 668-unit property across 16 buildings have been asking for increased security because the area has periodic shootings and non-residents frequent the buildings. Davis, who is president of the building\u2019s advisory council, said the properties have not had security personnel inside the buildings for a couple years.<\/p>\n Additional funds for security will be allocated in the 2026 budget, said Brewer, who recently visited Dearborn and met with property managers and residents.<\/p>\n On top of the security issues, elevators at the buildings keep breaking.<\/p>\n Many residents are older adults and rely on the elevators to reach their apartments. Some residents started leaving, or have requested to leave the property, as a result. The property\u2019s occupancy rate is 88.7%, as of Sept. 30, a drop from 95.1% last year, agency data shows.<\/p>\n William Rowland moved out of Dearborn Homes a couple years ago because the elevators were too unreliable, sometimes leaving him stranded and unable to go to doctor\u2019s appointments or the grocery store. Rowland lived on the sixth floor and uses a wheelchair.<\/p>\n He now lives at the CHA\u2019s Thomas Flannery Apartments in the Near North Side. There are two elevators in his building, and his living conditions are \u201c100% better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lillian Ocasio has been waiting three years to be transferred from Dearborn to another housing authority property.She said her apartment has been packed up while the CHA plays \u201chot potato\u201d with her request to move to the Northwest Side, where her siblings live.<\/p>\n After a stroke in 2021, the 11-year resident relies exclusively on the elevator to reach her fourth-floor apartment.Last year, she said the elevator was broken for at least a month and a half. She depends on her in-home aids, neighbors and the Chicago Fire Department when the elevator doesn\u2019t work.There have been many times when she gets ready for church only to find the elevator out of service.<\/p>\n \u201cI would cry, and I couldn\u2019t make it [to church],\u201d Ocasio said. \u201cI feel like a prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n Each Dearborn building has one elevator, but the CHA plans to add an elevator to each building, with construction expected to start in 2027, Brewer said. The agency estimates the cost to be $40 million. Elevator maintenance will remain a priority, Brewer said.<\/p>\n Residents at Henry Horner Homes in the Near West Side are also frustrated.<\/p>\n Willie Wright has lived at Horner since 1999.<\/p>\n Wright said for years, the agency has been providing \u201ca lot of lip service\u201d without actually meeting the needs of residents. Wright serves as a board member on her property\u2019s resident council and on the Horner Residents\u2019 Committee.<\/p>\n The committee grew out of a 1995 consent decree that CHA entered into with Horner residents after they sued over building conditions. CK<\/p>\n The property recently went through an emergency change in management \u2014 from Hispanic Housing Development Corp. to Manage Chicago \u2014 after years of complaints from residents and failed HUD inspections. An August building inspection showed a score of 26 out of 100, according to records obtained by the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n Under the consent decree, the housing authority is required to consult with the residents before hiring new property managers. Wright said the interim chief property officer and Hurlock chose Manage Chicago before meeting with residents, who invoked the consent decree.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are out here advocating for the residents, and we are screaming at the top of our lungs, and [they] can\u2019t hear anything we are saying,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Willie Wright has a pending work order to repair the ceiling and floor tiles in the living room of her Near West Side apartment.<\/p>\n Due to the ongoing litigation around ending the consent decree, Brewer said he\u2019s limited in what he can say. He said the housing authority did work with residents to find a replacement property manager with a \u201cstrong track record.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, Brewer believes the CHA\u2019s engagement with residents has improved.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding trust doesn\u2019t happen overnight,\u201d said Brewer, who became a board member in 2013. \u201cWe have been proactive, especially over the last year.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency will be digging into the resident survey results in an effort to address their concerns. Brewer said. The housing authority received over 4,000 responses, and the results will be released this fall.<\/p>\n The CHA recently scrapped a request for proposals for new property managers for thousands of units. Brewer cited President Donald Trump\u2019s funding priorities \u2014 to slash HUD\u2019s budget \u2014 and \u201csome emerging needs\u201d at properties as the reason for canceling the request until early next year. It will allow the agency to save some money next year, Brewer said.<\/p>\n In the meantime, the housing authority extended the contracts of three property managers \u2014 East Lake Management, Manage Chicago and Hispanic Housing Development Corp. \u2014 for another year on Sept. 1., records show. The contracts began in 2021 and have already received one of two possible year-long extensions.<\/p>\n Future unsettled<\/p>\n Brewer understands the importance of the organization he is temporarily leading, which serves about 5% of Chicago\u2019s population.<\/p>\n He remembers getting out of school every day at 1:30 p.m. as a safety precaution \u2014 it was located in the middle of the crime-ridden, since-demolished Robert Taylor Homes. The memory serves as an example of \u201cpublic housing gone wrong,\u201d he said, as he continues his work to improve the CHA.<\/p>\n Brewer is a full-time attorney, but said he\u2019s in the CHA office most days. He\u2019s had to navigate the housing authority\u2019s latest challenge: submitting a budget that follows Trump\u2019s executive orders such as those against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, which Brewer said directly conflicts with the Fair Housing Act. The housing authority sued HUD<\/a> last month over the issue.<\/p>\n While the CHA lost its lawsuit, Brewer said HUD granted the housing authority a 30-day extension on Oct. 21 to hash out the details.<\/p>\n The latest hurdle aside, Brewer said a \u201csilver lining\u201d for the CHA this year has been its ability to assess its strengths and weaknesses in a way that wouldn\u2019t have been possible if the agency had been focused on getting a new CEO up to speed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt allowed us to really take a step back and look at the organization with an eye toward building a more sustainable foundation,\u201d Brewer said.<\/p>\n Davis, of Dearborn Homes, said she wants the next CEO to be \u201ctransparent and approachable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI pray they will get a CEO soon and one who is for the people and wants to know about what the residents are going through in CHA,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n Wright, of Henry Horner Homes, said she\u2019s looking for a CEO who\u2019s ready to enact change, instead of continuing with the status quo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result,\u201d Wright said. \u201cThey are not taking our safety seriously … CHA needs to not just be in the business of housing but in the business of humans.\u201d<\/p>\n Contributing: Dan Mihalopoulos<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/bb42035\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6762x4508+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F93%2Faf%2Fcae03d854edead76304a111a4d02%2Fchaboardcontract-091625-14.jpg\")
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