City’s Financial Boss Resigns Rather Than ‘Compromise My Integrity,’ Sparking Calls For Investigation

CITY HALL — The city of Chicago’s chief financial officer abruptly resigned on Friday after saying she was unable to accurately provide information to the public about the city’s budget and finances. In a statement first reported by the Chicago Tribune , Ashlee Gabrysch said that “to continue in this role would be to compromise my integrity and professional obligations.” Gabrysch was the third person to occupy the CFO role in less than a year, and her Friday resignation comes in the middle of yet another contentious budget season that’s put Mayor Brandon Johnson at odds with a City Council majority intent on blocking key provisions of his proposed 2027 spending plan. In a letter earlier this week , 28 alderpeople urged Johnson to “go back to the drawing board” with his budget proposal, citing their continued opposition to a corporate head tax, the spiking of a city lease tax and other measures the mayor is supporting. Gabrysch’s resignation, which sent shock waves through City Hall and Chicago’s political circles on Friday, is now sparking calls for investigations from both alderpeople and Johnson himself. The mayor’s press office in a statement Friday said Gabrysch had been “largely absent” while the 2027 budget proposal was being prepared, and that she recently attempted to make a $75 million payment without “proper legal authority.” “Given the seriousness of these concerns, we will refer the matter to the city’s Office of Inspector General for independent review. We welcome a full review of the conduct at issue,” the statement from the mayor’s office said, which confirmed that her resignation was accepted. In a new statement Friday, Gabrysch said she stood by her original statement “and will continue to operate in accordance with my values and integrity.” “This effort by the administration to deflect from the serious issues at stake and attack those who attempt to hold them accountable is disappointing but not surprising,” Gabrysch said. Earlier this month, the City Council approved a plan to direct a $75 million payment negotiated during the recent transfer of the city’s parking meter ownership to support city pension funds. Meanwhile, alderpeople critical of Johnson are also calling for an investigation into the circumstances of Gabrysch’s resignation — and the city’s larger financial picture. In a statement Friday morning, Ald. Bill Conway (34th) urged the city’s inspector general to begin an immediate investigation into the matter. “This is an obvious indication that [Gabrysch] was asked by the Mayor’s Office to present false information,” the Downtown and West Loop alderperson said. “If Mayor Johnson asked his CFO to act or speak dishonestly, that is a shocking act against taxpayers and potentially criminal fraud.” The council’s finance chair Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) is also calling for an “independent audit” of the city’s finances, Crain’s reported . Gabrysch will be replaced temporarily by city comptroller Michael Belsky, who will serve as acting CFO “effective immediately,” the mayor’s office said. In a statement, Belsky said he was “disappointed” to learn of Gabrysch’s resignation, and defended Johnson’s handling of the budget and larger financial picture. “As is sometimes the case in any workplace, certain professional relationships and working arrangements do not work out,” Belsky said. “That said, in my time with the city, the Mayor and his team have been extremely transparent, open, and honest with the public and City Council about the city’s fiscal position. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply incorrect.” On Friday, Johnson’s political rivals sharply criticized the mayor and his administration over the resignation. “This is a five-alarm fire,” the council bloc that’s opposed Johnson’s budget proposals said in a statement. “For years, Chicagoans have had good reason to question whether this administration can manage the city’s finances. Now they have to ask whether it has crossed into fiscal malfeasance.” And Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, one of Johnson’s challengers in the February mayor’s race, said Johnson “owes the taxpayers an immediate explanation.” “This resignation is the latest turn of the revolving door of an administration that is incapable of retaining competent staff,” Giannoulias said in a statement . Outgoing state comptroller Susana Mendoza, who is also running for mayor, echoed calls for an investigation in a social media post Friday. “The pace of financial professionals fleeing this Mayoral administration, the lack of transparency on the city’s finances, and the smear campaign on Ms. Gabrysch are alarming signs for every Chicagoan,” Mendoza wrote . Regardless of the circumstances behind Gabrysch’s departure, the budget clock is ticking: The City Council must approve a balanced spending plan by the end of the year. Johnson’s proposed head tax and the raising of the city’s Personal Property Lease Tax, or PPLT, have emerged as two major sticking points in negotiations this fall. The mayor has proposed hiking the PPLT rate from 15 to 20 percent, which could raise about $234 million if approved. The lease tax applies to transactions like cloud computing but also rented construction machinery and other equipment. Under Johnson’s proposal, the tax would stay at 15 percent for vehicle leases and be reduced to 11 percent for film and television productions. The mayor this week signaled he planned to tweak some aspects of both proposals, although details have not been released. ______________________________________________________________________ Support Local News! Subscribe to Block Club Chicago , an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? 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