3 Chicago officials depart days after Mayor Johnson comments on potential firings

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Three top Chicago officials departed their positions Thursday at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Office of Emergency Management and Communications and the Chicago Department of Aviation.

The City Hall shake-up comes just days after Mayor Brandon Johnson commented on potential firings.

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Jamie Rhee has been a city hall fixture through four mayoral administrations, and as aviation commissioner, she was tasked with overseeing O'Hare Airport's expansion and modernization.

"That's an ongoing project that Jamie Rhee has had a lot of ownership of, and now you're going to change course in the middle of that," ABC7 Political Analyst Laura Washington said. "That raises questions about what that's going to mean for that project."

Mayor Brandon Johnson, in a statement, said Rhee "embodied the best of public service."

Rhee said, "I am eternally grateful for the opportunities that have been afforded to me."

But questions have been raised about the timing of Rhee's retirement following the mayor's comments Monday night about certain administration holdovers.

"I would have cleaned house faster," Johnson said Monday. "There's a whole bunch of people, like, 'Oh shoot, who's about to get fired?' Well, you're about to find out, stay tuned."

The mayor's office did not respond to ABC7's questions about who the mayor was referring to.

Alderman Brian Hopkins of the 2nd Ward said he spoke to Rhee after her retirement announcement.

"She wasn't indicating that this was her time frame," Ald. Hopkins said. "She would have liked to have stayed on to complete the terminal project, to complete the new gates."

Less than an hour after Rhee's announcement left City Hall buzzing, the mayor's office said OEMC Executive Director Jose Tirado was also leaving. Tirado is taking a job, ABC7 later learned, with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, a move in the works for weeks.

However, Tirado's departure was also clouded by the mayor's comments.

COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten also announced Thursday she is resigning. She's been under fire for allegations of anti-police bias.

Kersten's replacement will be appointed by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

Rich Guidice, Johnson's former chief of staff, said he was unaware of any disloyalty in the administration.

"I can't see any commissioner taking politics into their job and not doing, giving it a hundred percent of their job every day on a daily basis," Guidice said.