![\"Aldermen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-chicago-city-council-15_231437082.jpg\")
Aldermen and city staff clap for Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr., 27th, during a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall on July 16, 2025. Burnett is stepping down from the City Council at the end of this month. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\nAs the Chicago Housing Authority nears month nine without a permanent CEO, numerous resident leaders said Tuesday that the mayor\u2019s likely candidate is the wrong choice for the position and does not respect resident leadership.<\/p>\n
The residents \u2014 14 people who make up CHA\u2019s Central Advisory Council, an elected resident board \u2014 said Ald. Walter Burnett is not fit to lead the nation\u2019s third-largest public housing authority and will sell off CHA\u2019s land for non-public housing purposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter that he grew up in Cabrini-Green,\u201d said Mary Baggett, who represents the CHA\u2019s Near West Side community on the resident council. \u201cHe never helps public housing residents ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aldermen and city staff clap for Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr., 27th, during a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall on July 16, 2025. Burnett is stepping down from the City Council at the end of this month. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Burnett says otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always stand up and fight for the residents,\u201d Burnett, who said he lives near CHA housing, told the Tribune. \u201cI sit in the shadows of public housing because I know the culture, I grew up in the culture and I respect the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burnett, 27th, will resign<\/a> from the City Council \u2014 where he represents a West Side ward spanning some of the richest and poorest neighborhoods \u2014 at the end of the month. He has expressed deep interest<\/a> in taking the helm at CHA. The Tribune first reported<\/a> June 28 that Burnett was a reputed candidate for the position.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Brandon Johnson has yet to<\/a> officially announce the next CEO, with the housing authority expecting a new leader by summer\u2019s end. Burnett is still meeting with CHA board members, having said this month that he was \u201chustling votes.\u201d The CHA board, which has to vote to approve the mayor\u2019s CEO choice, was scheduled to meet July 15 but postponed its meeting to July 29, a potential indication that the mayor had still not made up his mind.<\/p>\n CHA launched a national search for a new CEO this year after the Nov. 1 departure of former CEO Tracey Scott<\/a>. CHA board Chair Angela Hurlock has been serving as interim CEO since Scott\u2019s resignation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The CHA resident leaders said they sent two letters to the mayor\u2019s office in June, with one in support of Eugene Jones Jr.<\/a>, Scott\u2019s predecessor who is also being considered for the top role again, and one opposing Burnett. The residents said they haven\u2019t received a response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n They said they are \u201cvery disappointed\u201d with the mayor, in addition to CHA. One resident emphasized that they are CHA\u2019s \u201cpartners,\u201d not their \u201cstepchildren.\u201d The residents said that while Johnson met with them once prior to being elected mayor and once after, he has not met with them to hear their thoughts on the next CHA CEO.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office and CHA declined to comment. <\/p>\n Vernell Givens, a representative on the council for CHA\u2019s buildings with senior residents, said the mayor came to her building July 18 for her annual luau, and she shared her concerns about Burnett with Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cHis response was \u2018I\u2019m sorry,\u2019\u201d Givens told the Tribune. Her response: \u201cSorry is not going to cut it.\u201d<\/p>\n The new CEO will take over the embattled agency as it is going through a significant period<\/a> of transition. The housing authority has seen eight high-ranking officials leave in the last year, including three who were fired<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agency head will be tasked with rebuilding residents\u2019 trust, boosting staff morale and addressing safety and environmental concerns at its properties while shepherding more housing developments in a city where housing has become increasingly less affordable<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agency shared publicly that it has a \u201cdiverse and inclusive\u201d CEO search committee, with \u201cresident leaders\u201d included. But, as the Tribune reported June 28<\/a>, Francine Washington, a CHA board member, is the only resident on the committee.<\/p>\n The rest of the committee includes interim CEO Hurlock, Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Casta\u00f1eda, Chicago Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright, CHA board member James Matanky and CHA interim board Chair Matthew Brewer.<\/p>\n Notably present in the group of residents Tuesday was Washington, who also sits on the resident board. She said the CEO search committee recommended three candidates to the mayor, and didn\u2019t include Burnett. Burnett was thrown in a month later, she said, with the rest of the candidates living out of state. She declined to share their names.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need a politician running our authority,\u201d Washington said. \u201cThen all our land will be sold off.\u201d<\/p>\n If appointed to the role, Burnett said he would not sell off CHA land for non-public housing purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal first and foremost is to get things built on CHA\u2019s property,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cMy other goal is to try and see if CHA can acquire other property in the community to expand CHA\u2019s footprint so we can build more CHA housing and affordable housing\u201d by leveraging existing city resources such as those available through the mayor\u2019s \u201cgreen social housing\u201d program<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked if he is willing to meet with the residents, Burnett said: \u201cAny time, any day, anywhere, no problem\u201d \u2014 with the caveat that CHA has not made that a part of the hiring process. He said he does not want to go around the board. The first people he would meet with if appointed would be the Central Advisory Council and residents, followed by visiting every CHA property, Burnett said.<\/p>\n Residents shared Tuesday that a meeting with Burnett prior to his appointment would not change their minds.<\/p>\n Burnett offered to meet with Baggett, he said, to discuss CHA resident concerns about the United Center\u2019s $7 billion 1901 Project<\/a>, which sits in his ward. Charnae Harmon \u2014 the resident board member representing CHA\u2019s Henry Horner Homes and its surrounding scattered sites, all of which are near the United Center \u2014 had previously expressed concerns about the project to Burnett in a September 2024 email, a copy of which was shared with the Tribune. The concerns center on the lack of public housing residents\u2019 involvement in the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n She received a voicemail from Burnett in response, which was played at the Tuesday meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what you thinking, Charnae, but you don\u2019t run the resident property in the ward. You run Henry Horner,\u201d Burnett said in the voicemail. \u201cWe can talk about it. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnett confirmed to the Tribune on Tuesday that he spoke with Harmon, saying he told her that the 1901 Project is \u201cbigger than you\u201d and did not involve CHA property.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it was CHA, I would listen to you on that,\u201d Burnett said, \u201cbut I got a whole other community to listen to around there that owns homes, and I can\u2019t take direction from you. \u2026 I have no idea why they think I don\u2019t listen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson told reporters in recent weeks that he is looking for someone \u201cwho has real, lived experience. Someone who understands the value of public housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnett, 61, grew up at Rockwell Gardens and Cabrini-Green. He served two years in prison for his role in a 1981 armed robbery in Kankakee. He was just 17 when he was convicted. In the years since, Burnett has been outspoken in support of second chances for people who have made mistakes.<\/p>\n He has also been a key ally for Johnson at City Hall, helping him bridge conflicts despite being more moderate politically than the first-term mayor. Johnson chose Burnett<\/a> to replace Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, as Zoning Committee chair after months of conflict between moderate members of the council and the mayor\u2019s progressive allies.<\/p>\n Burnett\u2019s wife, Darlena Williams-Burnett, previously worked for CHA as a senior director of general services, according to 2018 annual payroll data obtained by the Tribune. She now works as a real estate agent, according to her LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n The housing authority told the Tribune previously that 107 candidates applied for the role and that it was \u201cgrateful for the strong level of interest.\u201d It did not answer questions in June related to how this level of interest compares to past searches.<\/p>\n If Burnett does get appointed as the new CHA top dog, the road ahead with resident relations will likely be bumpy. The resident leaders are fed up.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody cares about us but us,\u201d Washington said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are tired of being used; we are tired of being neglected; we are tired period as human beings,\u201d said Robert Scott, a council board member representing buildings housing senior residents. \u201cWe are not pawns, not to be bargained with, not to be bargained over.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Vernell](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CHA-resident-board-burnett10_231605428.jpg\")
Vernell Givens, right, answers questions from reporters as members of the Chicago Housing Authority Central Advisory Council talk about the search for a new CEO at a CHA complex on July 22, 2025. At left is Charnae Harmon. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CHA-resident-board-burnett13_231605502.jpg\")
Mary Baggett, left, speaks with other CHA resident board members at a CHA complex on July 22, 2025. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CHA-resident-board-burnett04_231605420.jpg\")
Mary Baggett answers questions from reporters at a CHA complex on July 22, 2025. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n