Key Takeaways

  • Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman has stepped down, according to a post on social media platform X from Mayor Brandon Johnson's press office. This follows the departure of the city's acting chief financial officer, Steven Mahr, a week earlier.
  • A statement posted on X on Monday evening said Guzman stepped down to "focus on caring for her family," expressing gratitude for her work and wishing her well.
  • According to ABC Eyewitness News, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that Guzman left to care for her aging parents and insisted the city remains stable. Johnson said: "Even as others... have left, this has not stopped us from building the safest and most affordable big city in America. The results speak for themselves, and as long as the vision and mission I have put forward are executed by the team around me,the city of Chicago will remain stable under my leadership。”

In-Depth Analysis

These sudden personnel changes come as the cash-strapped city heads into budget season, less than a year before the next mayoral election.

The successive departures in fiscal leadership coincide with plans by major municipal bond investors to visit Chicago this month to meet with city officials. According to Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson, these investors had expected to learn about the city's outlook for the upcoming "quite turbulent budget season."

Ferguson said in an interview on Monday (before the budget director's departure was announced): "This is not an occasion to propose new bond issuance, but in this environment, they can get a sense of this year's revenue picture and how much new borrowing or rounds of borrowing the investment community should expect. At a very difficult time, this does not look good."

In addition to Mahr and Guzman,Deputy Chief Financial Officer Noor Shaikhalso left earlier this summer.