Chicago CFO resignation sparks new questions about budget

CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- The resignation of the city of Chicago's chief financial officer after three months on the job is sparking new calls for an investigation, and signals new uncertainty for Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed budget for next year.

Former Fitch Ratings senior analyst Ashlee Gabrysch became CFO in August. At the time her hiring was announced, Mayor Johnson praised her expertise as a fiduciary expert whose previous job included assessing the city of Chicago as an investment risk.

But Gabrysch submitted her resignation Friday, suggesting in her letter to the mayor that she was not able to fulfill her obligations as a fiduciary "under the conditions in which I have been asked to serve."

Her departure left the city without a chief financial officer for the third time this year, following the February departure of CFO Jill Jaworski and the resignation of acting CFO Steven Mahr over the summer. The vacancy, along with the absence of a permanent budget director after the resignation of Annette Guzman, means the mayor's finance team is without key leaders six weeks before the city must enact a budget for 2027 to avoid a potential government shutdown. It also raises new questions about the mayor's financial stewardship of the city as he and aldermen step up their messaging ahead of the February 23 citywide election.

A spokesperson for Mayor Johnson issued a statement in response to Gabrysch's resignation which in part suggested she was "largely absent" during budget preparation work. The spokesperson also said Gabrysch's decision to direct $75 million toward the city's pension debt this year was done without legal authority. City Council negotiated that payment as part of the purchase agreement for the city's parking meter lease contract, and has since affirmed it wanted that payment made this year, while the Johnson Administration included it in next year's budget.

"Our administration made multiple attempts to meet with her to discuss this action and seek an explanation ... Those attempts went unresolved," the statement read, adding that the mayor's office has directed Inspector General David Glockner to investigate.

The mayor's office also confirmed that Comptroller Michael Belsky, the most senior member of the mayor's finance team, will serve as acting CFO.

Gabrysch attracted attention during City Council budget hearings October 26, when she appeared to break with some of the assertions the mayor made when introducing his 2027 spending plan. She disputed his claim that the city's budget shortfall for next year was $665 million, instead pegging it at $882 million, and broke with his assessment of how much of the city's budget revenue was "structural" in nature, meaning recurring as opposed to one-time revenue.

"Do you think this budget is 76% structural?" Southwest side Ald. Marty Quinn (13rd Ward) asked during the hearing, repeating the mayor's claim. "We're looking at something more like 56%," Gabrysch responded at the time.

Ald. Quinn's North side colleague, frequent mayoral critic Ald. Scott Waguespack, said that exchange was a red flag for him and his colleagues.

"That sent a very loud signal to us that something was very wrong right out of the box with the mayor's budget," said Ald. Waguespack (32nd Ward), who added that he expects City Council to call a hearing to look into Gabrysch's tenure with the city, including hearing from her if possible: "That would be great."

South side Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) told "Crain's Chicago Business" she's calling for an independent audit of the mayor's budget to address concerns raised by Gabrysch's resignation, though Ald. Waguespack noted "the audit was done by this CFO, who just resigned."