city-hall-shuffle-20190426

Chief of Staff

The mayor’s right hand, charged with executing her vision. This person keeps city department heads, the treasurer and clerk on the mayor’s agenda.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Joe Deal	Maurice Classen
salary	Salary: $195,000	Salary: TBD
Description	Joe Deal took over in 2016, elevated from deputy chief of staff. A fixture on the fifth floor of City Hall, Deal also served in several advisory roles under former Mayor Richard M. Daley.	Classen worked on Lightfoot’s campaign and on her transition team after the election. Classen most recently worked as a civilian inside the Chicago Police Department, working to improve community policing using data and training. Prior to that, he worked with Lightfoot on the city’s Police Accountability Task Force, formed after the Laquan McDonald scandal.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Ann Norton

Deputy Mayor

This position has been used differently by different mayors. Typically, this person is focused on a specific priority area, like education or neighborhood development, and can speak on the mayor’s behalf.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Bob Rivkin	Samir Mayekar
salary	Salary: $150,000	Salary: TBD
Description	Emanuel most recently appointed Bob Rivkin to this position. Rivkin led several infrastructure and transportation projects, including the more than $8 billion expansion of O’Hare airport which aligned with his decades of experience working in the industry - for Delta Airlines and for federal and state transportation agencies. He left the mayor’s office in early 2019 to become general counsel for United Airlines.	Mayekar is the co-founder and CEO of NanoGraf Corporation, which works to improve lithium-ion battery technology. Mayekar previously worked on national security issues with the Obama administration and at a U.S.-backed foreign aid organization that connected private capital to underserved areas around the world.
Image credit	Image: United Airlines	Image: Ron Wu/Northwestern University

Chief Financial Officer

This person oversees city borrowing and investor relations, and sits on the board of each of the city’s four pension funds.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Carole Brown	Jennie Huang Bennett
salary	Salary: $169,992	Salary: TBD
Description	Carole Brown was recruited by the mayor in 2015 from Barclays Capital. During her tenure, she oversaw several multi-billion dollar borrowing deals and the creation of a private entity to borrow on the city’s behalf once the Chicago's credit rating neared junk status.	Jennie Huang Bennett comes to City Hall after almost seven years at Chicago Public Schools, most recently as the district’s chief financial officer. The school system has weathered very rocky financial waters, especially in recent years, giving Bennett expertise in managing complex borrowing, capital projects and cost-cutting.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Chicago Public Schools

Budget Director

This person drafts and executes the city’s $10 billion annual budget.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Samantha Fields	Susie Park
salary	Salary: $175,092	Salary: TBD
Description	Replaced City Hall veteran Alex Holt as budget director in 2017, having worked previously in the mayor’s office and as a top aide to former Democratic Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.	Susie Park comes to the mayor’s office from the Chicago Police Department. She was deputy chief overseeing many financial aspects of the department, including accounting, purchasing and payroll. Before working for the City of Chicago, she was the Director of Financial Control for Cook County.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Chicago Police Department

Chief of Communications

Messaging, messaging, messaging. This person oversees a team of deputies who work to push out the mayor’s agenda in the press — and literally has eyes and ears everywhere.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Shannon Breymaier	Marielle Sainvilus
salary	Salary: $160,002	Salary: TBD
Description	Shannon Breymaier was promoted at the end of 2018 after five years as a deputy spokesperson. She replaced Adam Collins, who had held the top spokesman job since 2016. He left to take a job with MillerCoors, but previously served as a deputy spokesman and head of communications for the police department.	Lightfoot tapped Marielle Sainvilus to oversee communications for her transition team so it’s not a surprise she’ll be joining the administration as head spokesperson. Sainvilus has been in private sector communications most recently, but is no stranger to government: She worked in communications for Chicago Public Schools, ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the state Department of Human Services.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: University of Chicago

Head of Intergovernmental Affairs

The mayor’s direct line to the City Council, Springfield and Washington, D.C. They whip votes and make deals with lawmakers.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Maria Guerra Lapacek	Samantha Fields
salary	Salary: $169,002	Salary: TBD
Description	Maria Guerra Lapacek replaced Anna Valencia as the mayor’s top politico after Valencia became Clerk in 2016. She also played a leading role in the contentious Uber and Lyft regulatory fight.	As senior advisor for Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs, Fields will be Lightfoot's point person to advance her agenda in the City Council, Springfield and in Washington. Fields previously served as budget director under Emanuel.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Chief Equity Officer

Lightfoot is creating a new Office of Equity and Racial Justice to tackle city issues with a “racial equity lens.” The idea is to look at the racial impact of government decision-making.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	None	Candace Moore
salary		Salary: TBD
Description	This position did not exist under Emanuel.	Lightfoot is tapping Moore, a lawyer, for this new job. As a staff attorney for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Moore helped families and teachers at National Teachers’ Academy, a high-performing, majority-black elementary school, stop Chicago Public Schools from closing their school to convert the building into a neighborhood high school for the South Loop and Chinatown.
Image credit		Image: Chicago Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights

Commissioner of Planning and Development

Oversees what does - or doesn’t - get built in Chicago. Deals with zoning issues, city subsidies and city-owned land, and holds more city board seats than most commissioners.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	David Reifman	Eleanor Gorski
salary	Salary: $180,276	Salary: TBD
Description	Reifman came from the powerful zoning law firm DLA Piper in 2015. He streamlined planning meetings and overhauled decades-old zoning programs. Developers now pay fees to a neighborhood grant program if they want to build taller than city rules allow. He also worked to allow more development along the Chicago River.	Gorski, a deputy commissioner in the department, will fill in the top job until the Lightfoot administration can hire a permanent replacement.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Eleanor Gorski

Commissioner of Aviation

This person oversees the operation of Chicago’s two airports, O’Hare and Midway.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Jamie Rhee	Jamie Rhee
salary	Salary: $275,004	Salary: TBD
Description	Emanuel’s current pick, Jamie Rhee, started on the job in 2018 after years working in both the city’s aviation and procurement departments. She’s also been helping oversee an more than $8 billion expansion deal launched by her predecessor.	With billions of dollars about to be spent at O’Hare airport, Lightfoot is keeping Rhee on at the helm to watch over the coming expansion project. Both Rhee and Lightfoot have experience with city contracting, having worked in leadership at the city’s Department of Procurement Services.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Commissioner of the Department of Transportation

Oversees all city roads, bridges, traffic signals, street lights and the Divvy system.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Rebekah Scheinfeld	Thomas R. Carney
salary	Salary: $174,588	Salary: TBD
Description	Scheinfeld moved from the CTA in 2014. She oversaw the Chicago Smart Lighting Plan, construction of the 606 trail, and the Loop Link shuttle bus. She was also an attorney at Lightfoot’s former law firm, Mayer Brown.	Carney has been working the No. 2 job at Transportation and will serve as interim commissioner until Lightfoot's people search for a permanent replacement.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Thomas Carney

Chief Procurement Officer

Handles all purchasing for the city of Chicago, from technology agreements to airport concessions. Every outside contract goes through this office, giving the CPO significant purchasing power.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Shannon Andrews	Shannon Andrews
salary	Salary: $180,000	Salary: TBD
Description	Andrews was recruited from Cook County last year, where she held the same position under Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Andrews replaced Jamie Rhee in one of many musical chair reshuffles during Emanuel’s second term.	Lightfoot will keep Shannon Andrews as head of city contracting. Lightfoot has shown an interest in boosting the number of minority- and women-owned businesses doing work for the city. She’s also keeping a keen eye on potential corruption, including in this area.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation

Oversees an army of workers in every ward who handle garbage pickup, snow removal, graffiti blasting, and rat killing. This is, arguably, the most important commissioner to aldermen, who often have someone at Streets and San on speed dial.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	John Tully, Jr.	John Tully, Jr.
salary	Salary: $165,504	Salary: TBD
Description	After joining Streets and San in 1994, Tully worked his way up through the ranks. Emanuel appointed him in 2017 after the last commissioner retired.	Tully will continue to take calls from adermen and work to keep the city clean under Lightfoot.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Chicago Public Library Commissioner and CEO

Oversees more than 80 library branches with a $130 million budget.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Brian Bannon	Andrea Telli
salary	Salary: $172,020	Salary: TBD
Description	Bannon joined the Emanuel administration in 2012. He took the job after the mayor cut staff and hours at some branches (some were later restored). Bannon has opened six new CPL locations. In May, Bannon accepted a position with the New York Public Library.	Telli has worked at Chicago Public Library for nearly 30 years, including serving as a branch manager in Humboldt Park. Most recently, Telli was CPL Deputy Commissioner. Telli said a priority for her is making libraries accessible learning centers for all.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Commissioner of Public Health

The city’s top doctor guides Chicago’s approach to public health, including its response to disease outbreaks and mental health care.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Julie Morita	Allison Arwady
salary	Salary: $182,316	Salary: TBD
Description	Dr. Morita was appointed in 2015 to the top job after serving as the department’s Chief Medical Officer. She’s been the front lines of the city’s response to elevated lead levels in drinking water, and has led initiatives to reduce teen smoking.	Allison Arwady will become the interim top doctor when Morita departs in June for a new job with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Arwady currently serves as the department’s Chief Medical Officer. Lightfoot’s team says it’ll do a national search for a permanent replacement.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Allison Arwady

Executive Director, Office of Emergency Management and Communications

The head of OEMC runs the city’s 911 system, coordinates security during large events, like the Chicago Marathon, and manages a nearly $300 million budget.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Alicia A. Tate-Nadeau	Rich Guidice
salary	Salary: $172,824	Salary: TBD
Description	Known for being the first female General in the Illinois National Guard, Tate-Nadeau took the helm of OEMC in 2016 and oversaw the switch to a so-called “Smart911” system. Tate-Nadeau was also tasked with cleaning up systemic abuse of overtime and family leave within OEMC. She recently moved on to become Illinois’ Director of Homeland Security and acting head of the state’s Emergency Management Agency.	Rich Guidice took over OEMC in early January when Tate-Nadeau departed. For now, Lightfoot is having him stay on.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Corporation Counsel

The city’s top lawyer oversees 280 attorneys who handle lawsuits brought against the city on matters as big as police misconduct and as small as potholes busting up residents’ tires.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Edward N. Siskel	Mark Flessner
salary	Salary: $178,872	Salary: TBD
Description	Siskel came to the city in 2017 from the global law firm, WilmerHale. Siskel has also served as a Deputy White House Counsel for President Barack Obama and an Assistant U.S. Attorney investigating financial fraud and public corruption.	Lightfoot has tapped Flessner, a partner and trial attorney at Holland & Knight. He spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago and overlapped with Lightfoot’s time there. Flessner led investigations into financial fraud, white collar crime, gangs and narcotics during his time as a federal prosecutor.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: Holland & Knight

Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Oversees city programming that promotes arts and culture.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Mark Kelly	Mark Kelly
salary	Salary: $159,696	Salary: TBD
Description	The Mayor appointed Kelly in 2016. Kelly was at Columbia College before that and led the South Wabash Arts Corridor initiative. He helped push through City Council the Mural Registry Ordinance.	Lightfoot is keeping on Mark Kelly to carry out her arts and culture agenda.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection

This person oversees the department that regulates Chicago businesses, including issuing permits, licenses and taking consumer complaints.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Rosa Escareno	Rosa Escareno
salary	Salary: $161,808	Salary: TBD
Description	Rosa Escareno spent two decades working at City Hall during both the Emanuel and Daley administrations. She took the helm in 2017 and has overseen sometimes controversial new regulations of the growing gig economy, such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb.	Escareno will remain in charge of business regulation under Lightfoot.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Police Superintendent

The city’s top cop oversees a more than $1.5 billion budget and about 13,000 sworn officers, and is in charge of crafting citywide policing strategy.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Eddie Johnson	Eddie Johnson
salary	Salary: $260,004	Salary: TBD
Description	Following the Laquan McDonald scandal, Emanuel changed city law in 2016 to elevate Johnson to be superintendent, rejecting police board nominations offered to him after a nationwide search. Formerly the Chief of Patrol, Johnson was also a police commander.	Lightfoot is keeping Johnson on for now. She has made it clear she won’t discuss whether to appoint a new superintendent until the summer violence season is over.
Image credit	Image: Chicago Police Department	Image: Chicago Police Department

Fire Commissioner

The head of the Chicago Fire Department leads a staff of 5,000 with a budget of more than $650 million.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Richard T. Ford II	Richard T. Ford II
salary	Salary: $217,728	Salary: TBD
Description	Under Emanuel, there have not been major changes or cuts within the fire department. Jose Santiago led CFD for most of the mayor’s two terms. He left in 2018 after he hit the department’s mandatory retirement age of 63. Emanuel appointed 35-year veteran Richard C. Ford II to replace Santiago last year.	Lightfoot is keeping Ford as the city’s fire commissioner.
Image credit	Image: City of Chicago	Image: City of Chicago

Commissioner of Housing

The Commissioner of Housing enacts the city’s affordable housing goals, from city-subsidized developments to policing the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	None	Marisa Novara
salary		Salary: $175,680
Description	Under Emanuel, Housing was a bureau within the Department of Planning and Development. In his final year, Emanuel made it its own department.	Novara joins the Lightfoot administration from the nonprofit Metropolitan Planning Council, where she served as vice president. In that position, Novara authored several studies on housing equity and segregation in Chicago.
Image credit		Image: Natalie Moore/WBEZ

Chicago Public Schools CEO

This person runs Chicago Public Schools, the state’s second-largest employer, and manages a budget of nearly $6 billion. The head of Chicago’s roughly 650 public schools has been one of the mayor’s most important appointments since 1995, when the state gave control of the district to the mayor.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Janice Jackson	Janice Jackson
salary	Salary: $260,000	Salary: TBD
Description	Emanuel’s first two picks to oversee the schools were short-lived. The current head of the schools, Jackson, worked her way through the ranks from teacher to principal and, eventually, CEO. Named to the job in 2017, she’s well-liked by employees and has a respectful relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union.	Lightfoot is keeping Jackson at the helm of the city’s schools, allowing her to continue some of the district’s key initiatives, like the expansion of universal preschool. Respect for Jackson among rank-and-file teachers could also help the new mayor during the looming teacher contract negotiations.
Image credit	Image: Chicago Public Schools	Image: Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO

Oversees more than 600 parks with a $464 million budget.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Michael P. Kelly	Michael P. Kelly
salary	Salary: $214,005	Salary: TBD
Description	The mayor put Kelly in charge in 2011. Kelly says the city added more than 1,000 acres of park land during his tenure. He has also faced opposition from park advocates about building along the city’s lakefront.	Kelly’s ‘golden-parachute’ contract approved by the Park District board in the waning days the Emanuel era may have gotten cancelled, but he’s not out of a job. Lightfoot will keep him in charge of the sister agency.
Image credit	Image: Chicago Park District	Image: Chicago Park District

Chicago Housing Authority CEO

This person oversees the construction and operation of all of the city’s public housing. This agency has its own taxing power and operates quasi-independently of City Hall.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Eugene Jones, Jr.	Eugene Jones, Jr.
salary	Salary: $291,500	Salary: TBD
Description	Mayor Emanuel’s first pick, Charles Woodyard, left amid a sexual harassment scandal. Jones, the current leader, came to Chicago in 2015 by way of Toronto.	Lightfoot is keeping Jones at the helm of the CHA. He's led the public housing agency since 2015 after a number of revolving CEOs.
Image credit	Image: Chicago Housing Authority	Image: Chicago Housing Authority

Chicago Transit Authority President

This person heads Chicago’s L train system and fleet of buses, as well as the workers who keep them running 24/7.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Dorval R. Carter, Jr.	Dorval R. Carter, Jr.
salary	Salary: $255,079	Salary: TBD
Description	Emanuel picked Carter in 2015 to lead the CTA. Carter has overseen Emanuel’s push to modernize the Red and Purple Lines on the North Side, as well as the mayor’s push to construct or remodel L stops, like the Damen Green Line stop, which recently broke ground.	Lightfoot is keeping Dorval Carter, Jr. at the helm of the CTA for now.
Image credit	Image: Chicago Transit Authority	Image: Chicago Transit Authority

City Colleges Chancellor

The leader of Chicago’s community college system is in charge of seven campuses, more than 4,000 employees, 80,000 students, and a budget of $436 million.

	During Rahm Emanuel's Administration	During Lori Lightfoot's Adminstration
Name	Juan Salgado	Juan Salgado
salary	Salary: $256,250	Salary: TBD
Description	Salgado took over in 2017, after his predecessor got a no-confidence vote from staff following a “reinvention” plan that let to cuts and a tuition hike. Salgado has focused on growing Chicago’s Star Scholarship, which gives a full ride to CPS students who graduate high school with a B average. That program recently expanded to include Catholic High School graduates.	The new mayor is keeping Salgado on board, but she has not said much about her vision for the city’s community colleges just yet.
Image credit	Image: City Colleges of Chicago	Image: City Colleges of Chicago

inner circle

Chief of Staff

Joe Deal

Maurice Classen

Deputy Mayor

Bob Rivkin

Samir Mayekar

Chief Financial Officer

Carole Brown

Jennie Huang Bennett

Budget Director

Samantha Fields

Susie Park

Chief of Communications

Shannon Breymaier

Marielle Sainvilus

Head of Intergovernmental Affairs

Maria Guerra Lapacek

Samantha Fields

Chief Equity Officer

None

Candace Moore

cabinet

Commissioner of Planning and Development

David Reifman

Eleanor Gorski

Commissioner of Aviation

Jamie Rhee

Jamie Rhee

Commissioner of the Department of Transportation

Rebekah Scheinfeld

Thomas R. Carney

Chief Procurement Officer

Shannon Andrews

Shannon Andrews

Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation

John Tully, Jr.

John Tully, Jr.

Chicago Public Library Commissioner and CEO

Brian Bannon

Andrea Telli

Commissioner of Public Health

Julie Morita

Allison Arwady

Executive Director, Office of Emergency Management and Communications

Alicia A. Tate-Nadeau

Rich Guidice

Corporation Counsel

Edward N. Siskel

Mark Flessner

Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly

Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection

Rosa Escareno

Rosa Escareno

Police Superintendent

Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johnson

Fire Commissioner

Richard T. Ford II

Richard T. Ford II

Commissioner of Housing

None

Marisa Novara

sister agency chiefs

Chicago Public Schools CEO

Janice Jackson

Janice Jackson

Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO

Michael P. Kelly

Michael P. Kelly

Chicago Housing Authority CEO

Eugene Jones, Jr.

Eugene Jones, Jr.

Chicago Transit Authority President

Dorval R. Carter, Jr.

Dorval R. Carter, Jr.

City Colleges Chancellor

Juan Salgado