(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Despite getting backing from the Chicago Board of Health, Chicago's top public health official has been fired.
Mayor Brandon Johnson dismissed Health Commissioner Allison Arwady on Friday. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Arwady received notice shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, and the ousted commissioner took to Twitter to say she was "especially disappointed not to get a chance to say goodbye" to her staff.
"Public health remains my passion. I am dedicated to continuing this work, even if I am not able to continue to serve the city I love as your commissioner," she said.
Arwady, an infectious disease expert, had said she wanted to remain under Johnson’s administration, but the mayor had long signaled he would choose someone else.
Arwady became well-known during the COVID pandemic as the face of public health in Chicago. She has received criticism on all sides, with some frustrated with stay-at-home orders and others saying she gave the go-ahead to reopen the city too soon.
Arwady's termination comes amid a larger turnover in Johnson's cabinet.
Johnson had been a critic of an earlier decision to close city-run mental health clinics, a strategy that was continued under Dr. Arwady's original boss at City Hall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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