Johnson downplays concerns as budget director resigns amid continued turnover in his administration

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman is resigning from Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration as the city prepares for another challenging budget season.

Johnson said Guzman, who has been with his administration since he took office, is leaving City Hall to care for her ailing mother.

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"She has certainly helped us navigate some of the most significant fiscal challenges that our city has faced," Johnson said.

Guzman's departure is the latest in a series of exits among the mayor's senior financial staff. Former Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski left several months ago. Her acting replacement stepped down last week, and the deputy chief financial officer left in June.

The turnover extends beyond the city's finance team. The administration has also lost its human resources commissioner, police superintendent and health commissioner this year.

Ald. Scott Waguespack, who represents the city's 32nd Ward, said the departures raise concerns about leadership within City Hall.

"If you're losing all your top leadership, there is something fundamentally wrong with the way you're running this city. And I think just saying, 'OK, we're just going to throw somebody else in,' that's not working," Waguespack said.

Waguespack is a member of the City Council's Budget Accountability Coalition, a group of alderpersons that rejected the mayor's budget proposal last year and developed its own alternative plan.

The latest resignation comes as Chicago faces what is expected to be another difficult budget cycle.

"I think it shows more than anything else is instability and the perception of instability. And this is exactly the worst time in this administration to be presenting an image of an unstable government of a government that's not in charge," ABC7 Political Expert Laura Washington said.

Waguespack said the administration should already be outlining its strategy for addressing the city's financial challenges.

"Knowing that you had a budget director resigning, he should have come up with some sense of a plan to show the taxpayers, today, what's going to happen," Waguespack said.

He said the city is facing a budget deficit of about $1 billion and argued that taxpayers need a blueprint that demonstrates stability.

Johnson downplayed concerns about the changes in personnel, saying such departures are common in government.

"Transitions happen all the time in administrations. But what's most constant is my presence," the mayor said.

Johnson said his administration remains focused on its goals despite the turnover.

"As long as the mission, the vision that I have put forward, is carried out and executed by the team that's around me, the City of Chicago will remain stable," Johnson said.

Johnson is expected to present his budget proposal in mid-to-late October, around the same time petitions are due for the mayoral race. He again declined to indicate when he plans to announce whether he will seek reelection.