Longtime Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) will resign as Mayor Brandon Johnson is “seriously considering” naming him CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority, according to news reports.
The reports come at a pivotal time at the CHA as dwindling federal support for public housing, turnover, community distrust and low morale threatens the nation’s second largest public housing agency. The ongoing problems deepened under CEO Tracey Scott, who was appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Reports say Johnson wants Burnett to take over CHA due to the agency falling short on delivering on promises to replace demolished public housing projects under the city’s “Plan for Transformation.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Burnett will resign regardless of whether he’s tapped to head the CHA. Burnett said he has “maxed out on his city pension” and hopes Johnson will appoint his son, Walter R. Burnett to fill the 27th Ward seat.
Burnett, 62, is a member of the Chicago Black Caucus and serves as the Council’s vice mayor and chair of the Zoning Committee.
Last week, Crain’s Chicago Business said Burnett is considering running for Congress as seats for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District and the U.S. Senate remain up for grabs.
At his weekly press conference Tuesday, July 8, Johnson said Burnett has been an “incredible asset to the people of Chicago” and would be as effective at the CHA.
“His lived experience around public housing is just — it’s the type of experience that is rare. You very rarely find someone who has that type of compassion and understanding around the value of building more affordable housing, particularly public housing. … He is someone that I am seriously considering, along with two other potential candidates.”
The CHA board reportedly is scheduled to meet later this month, when a decision on the agency’s new CEO could be announced.
A product of Chicago’s northside Cabrini-Green housing projects, Burnett told the Sun-Times heading CHA would be a dream job.
“Even thinking about this stuff is emotional for me. It’s just unbelievable how gracious and merciful God is. I never dreamed that something like this could happen for me,” said Burnett, who was paroled after he was convicted of armed robbery.
“Whether I go to CHA or not, I’m grateful. I’m grateful to be the vice mayor of Chicago with the journey that I’ve been through. To be the longest-serving African American alderman in history. I’m just grateful for all of those things this journey has taken me to, and grateful I’ve got people knocking on my door telling me that, if I don’t do this, I can come with them.”
In 2024, Angela Hurlock took over as CHA interim CEO after CEO Scott left the beleaguered agency.
Under Scott, CHA was heavily criticized for leasing 23 acres of land to the Chicago Fire Football Club’s new training facility. Housing advocates blasted CHA for using public land to a private enterprise. The facility opened in March, as the deal continues to come under fire.
In 2022, amid protests, Chicago housing officials approved the lease of public housing land for a new, $120 million Near South Side high school at the location where the former Harold L. Ickes Homes stood before being demolished in 2007.
Under Scott, hundreds of CHA properties that could have housed poor residents reportedly remained vacant.
While campaigning for mayor, Johnson said he wanted to implement a freeze on the transfer of CHA land for non-housing purposes.
“We cannot allow public land intended for housing to be auctioned off to the highest bidder or to political allies,” Johnson’s campaign website says.
Alderman Jeanette Taylor (20th), who in 2022 was notified by CHA that her 30-year wait for a home was over, said some staff at CHA “need to go” because they “don’t believe in public housing.”
Housing advocates say CHA has not fulfilled its promises of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s “Plan for Transformation,” to replace tens of thousands of public housing units after it demolished Cabrini-Green and the Robert Taylor Homes housing developments.