Politics

Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer Resigns, Saying She Refuses to ‘Compromise My Integrity’; Johnson Accuses Her of Mismanagement

Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer Ashlee Gabrysch resigned abruptly Friday morning, saying that to continue serving as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top financial advisor would “compromise my integrity and professional obligations.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson said Gabrysch had been “largely absent” while the city’s $17.6 billion budget for 2027 was being developed. Gabrysch also ordered that a $75 million payment be made without the proper authority.

Gabrysch, who served as the city’s chief financial officer for just three months, joined the city from Fitch Ratings, one of the Wall Street ratings agencies that measures the city’s credit worthiness.

“As the city of Chicago’s chief financial officer, there is nothing more important than my fiduciary duty to the city and its taxpayers,” Gabrysch said in a statement first reported by the Chicago Tribune. “The chief financial officer’s statements about city finances are not idle chatter: they are relied upon by investors, ratings agencies, City Council, and taxpayers. The CFO must act scrupulously to ensure they are always accurate and complete. Throughout my career, I have remained committed to upholding the highest standards of financial integrity and transparency, and in my short time as chief financial officer, I have faithfully discharged this duty. It has become apparent, however, that to continue in this role would be to compromise my integrity and professional obligations. I therefore have concluded that I must step down from my role, and hereby tender my resignation.”

Gabrysch did not immediately respond to requests for comment from WTTW News about what prompted her resignation.

A spokesperson for Johnson accused Gabrysch of mismanagement.

“It is concerning that, during her short tenure, Ashlee (Gabrysch) was largely absent during critical periods of the city’s budget preparation process,” spokesperson Allison Novelo said. “Our administration takes its responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars, uphold the law, and ensure the responsible management of city finances seriously. We expect every city official to meet that standard.”

Gabrysch directed the “city treasurer to issue a $75 million payment without proper legal authority or following the required processes raises serious concerns,” Novelo said.

That payment was the $75 million the city got from the new owners of the parking meters, according to Johnson’s office.

The Chicago City Council voted 44-6 on Nov. 2 to use those funds to make an extra payment to the city’s woefully underfunded pension funds, opening a new gap in the 2027 spending plan.

“Our administration made multiple attempts to meet with her to discuss this action and seek an explanation, including shortly before her public resignation,” Novelo said. “Those attempts went unresolved.”

“Given the seriousness of these concerns,” the mayor’s office will refer the matter to the office of the inspector general, Novelo said. “We welcome a full review of the conduct at issue.”

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) said the city should immediately hire an outside firm to conduct an independent audit of the city’s finances in light of Gabrysch’s resignation, and warned the impact could be profound on the city’s already tenuous finances.

“This sends a signal to ratings agencies and the financial world that Chicago has some serious fiscal problems,” said Dowell, who praised Gabrysch as an “honest broker” whose guidance and recommendations she had come to rely on.

“This is certainly not the time to be without a CFO,” Dowell said.

Gabrysch departs on the brink of another budget impasse, with the majority of the Chicago City Council vehemently opposed to Johnson’s plan. The two sides are separated by approximately $409 million.

There are 46 days left for the city to ink a budget for 2027 — and 102 days until Johnson and all but three members of the City Council ask voters to reelect them to new four-year terms.

When he unveiled his budget, Johnson and administration officials said 76% of the budget gap would be closed with structural fixes that would bring expenses in line with revenues. That could help the city avoid another credit downgrade.

But Gabrysch told the City Council on Oct. 26 that the decision to borrow $481 million to cover the cost of resolving police misconduct lawsuit changed that calculation, reducing the amount of the gap closed with revenue the city can count on in future years to just 56%.

As recently as September, Johnson told reporters the city would not borrow to cover those costs, and blamed the Chicago Police Department’s decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality for swelling the deficit to an initial projection of $882.4 million.

By deciding to borrow to cover the cost of resolving those lawsuits, Johnson’s team only had to close a gap of $652.5 million, acting Budget Director Jonathan Ernst told reporters.

After Gabrysch’s remarks, Johnson defended his budget proposal to reporters.

“Look, we were obviously incredibly transparent,” Johnson said.

Gabrysch replaced acting Chief Financial Officer Steven Mahr, who took over for former Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski when she left the city to become the chief financial and administrative officer for Navy Pier.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

---