Emboldened City Council blocks Mayor Johnson's proposed CHA board takeover
<p>Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to seize control over the Chicago Housing Authority board led by <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielman-show/2026/06/25/cha-operating-chair-matthew-brewer-candidate-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson" >mayoral challenger Matthew Brewer</a> was thwarted Tuesday after yet another City Council revolt.</p><p>Johnson introduced three appointments to the CHA board, including Brewer’s replacement, to a Housing Committee chaired by one of his closest allies in an attempt to speed the confirmation process and immediately seat those new members.</p><p>But members of the rebel bloc that rejected Johnson’s corporate head tax before approving an alternative city budget refused to go along with the mayor’s maneuver.</p><p>They argued that Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern City Council proceedings, requires that direct introductions to committees be reserved for emergencies, and three appointments to a board overseeing a Chicago Housing Authority that Johnson allowed to languish without permanent leadership for nearly two years does not qualify as an emergency.</p><p>It was the second time in less than a week that Johnson’s attempt to circumvent the rules was thwarted.</p><p>Brewer accused the mayor of engineering the takeover in an attempt to retaliate against him, “undermine leadership and ultimately try to replace” newly appointed CHA CEO Keith Pettigrew, who was awarded a four-year contract in March over the mayor’s objections.</p><p>“There have been other expired seats on this board for the last couple years. Seats that have been expired for the last couple years and those weren’t an emergency.
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<p>Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to seize control over the Chicago Housing Authority board led by <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielman-show/2026/06/25/cha-operating-chair-matthew-brewer-candidate-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson" >mayoral challenger Matthew Brewer</a> was thwarted Tuesday after yet another City Council revolt.</p><p>Johnson introduced three appointments to the CHA board, including Brewer’s replacement, to a Housing Committee chaired by one of his closest allies in an attempt to speed the confirmation process and immediately seat those new members.</p><p>But members of the rebel bloc that rejected Johnson’s corporate head tax before approving an alternative city budget refused to go along with the mayor’s maneuver.</p><p>They argued that Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern City Council proceedings, requires that direct introductions to committees be reserved for emergencies, and three appointments to a board overseeing a Chicago Housing Authority that Johnson allowed to languish without permanent leadership for nearly two years does not qualify as an emergency.</p><p>It was the second time in less than a week that Johnson’s attempt to circumvent the rules was thwarted.</p><p>Brewer accused the mayor of engineering the takeover in an attempt to retaliate against him, “undermine leadership and ultimately try to replace” newly appointed CHA CEO Keith Pettigrew, who was awarded a four-year contract in March over the mayor’s objections.</p><p>“There have been other expired seats on this board for the last couple years. Seats that have been expired for the last couple years and those weren’t an emergency. My seat just expired last week and now, it’s an emergency. There’s certainly an element of, `Get Matt Brewer off the board,’“ Brewer told the Sun-Times.</p><p>“It could be because I led the board...
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- <p>Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to seize control over the Chicago Housing Authority board led by <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielman-show/2026/06/25/cha-operating-chair-matthew-brewer-candidate-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson" >mayoral challenger Matthew Brewer</a> was thwarted Tuesday after yet another City Council revolt.</p><p>Johnson introduced three appointments to the CHA board, including Brewer’s replacement, to a Housing Committee chaired by one of his closest allies in an attempt to speed the confirmation process and immediately seat those new members.</p><p>But members of the rebel bloc that rejected Johnson’s corporate head tax before approving an alternative city budget refused to go along with the mayor’s maneuver.</p><p>They argued that Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern City Council proceedings, requires that direct introductions to committees be reserved for emergencies, and three appointments to a board overseeing a Chicago Housing Authority that Johnson allowed to languish without permanent leadership for nearly two years does not qualify as an emergency.</p><p>It was the second time in less than a week that Johnson’s attempt to circumvent the rules was thwarted.</p><p>Brewer accused the mayor of engineering the takeover in an attempt to retaliate against him, “undermine leadership and ultimately try to replace” newly appointed CHA CEO Keith Pettigrew, who was awarded a four-year contract in March over the mayor’s objections.</p><p>“There have been other expired seats on this board for the last couple years. Seats that have been expired for the last couple years and those weren’t an emergency.
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Emboldened City Council blocks Mayor Johnson's proposed CHA board takeover
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times