Mayor Brandon Johnson losing three key leaders at end of year

Mayor Brandon Johnson will be on the hook to fill three key slots in his administration as the calendar turns on the new year.

His comptroller, chief policy officer, and the head of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services are all headed for the exits.

Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel — who runs the office responsible for things like payroll, fines and fees and workers compensation — announced Friday he would be leaving the city to work as chief financial officer for the family-owned Devon Bank.

Rehwinkel previously worked as policy director for the state treasurer, chief economist for the state comptroller, and director of banking for Gov. JB Pritzker. Though he was slated to help Johnson execute his plan to seek additional state funds from lawmakers, Rehwinkel said the offer was too good to pass up.

“It has been a challenging budget season,” he conceded, but “if this specific opportunity hadn’t come up, I would fully expect to be here. I had made ideas to be down and assist with Springfield-related items and there’s still a lot I actually want to do here… sometimes you can’t pick your timing.”

The bank does not have current business with the city, he said.

Rehwinkel has been the third leg of Johnson’s finance team alongside Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski and Budget Director Annette Guzman since the mayor took office. The three were responsible for helping usher Johnson’s budget through the aldermanic gauntlet, running the numbers for various proposed taxes and fees, cuts, and financial maneuvers to close this year’s $1 billion budget gap.

In the end, aldermen rejected Johnson’s bid for a property tax hike, approving a budget with fewer long-term structural solutions to closing the gap than the one he initially introduced.

Rehwinkel told the Tribune he hopes his successor continues tackling ways to make paying city bills easier, takes up calls for a public bank, and goes after bad faith scofflaws flouting city rules for profit. His office is making new “three strike” rules to prevent people from extending payment plans on city debt indefinitely. His successor will also have to continue the work to untangle a payroll snafu that has enraged laborers and impacted pay for other city tradesmen.

Also exiting: policy chief Mayumi “Umi” Grigsby, who helped spearhead “Bring Chicago Home” plans, inched closer toward a city-owned grocery store, and an overhaul of the city’s mental health services.

The Department of Family and Support Services’ commissioner, Brandie Knazze, who helmed the city shelter response during the migrant crisis, is also exiting Dec. 31 for a nonprofit job. She started leading the department under the Lightfoot administration in 2021. The department also handles programming for children and youth, seniors, and survivors of domestic violence.