The chief financial officer in the administration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has resigned after just three months on the job. Ashlee Gabrysch’s resignation took effect Friday.
She is the third chief financial officer to leave Johnson’s administration in the past year. Gabrysch took the post in August. “Investors, rating agencies, the City Council and taxpayers rely on the chief financial officer’s statements about the city’s finances. They must therefore be complete and accurate. Under the conditions in which I have been asked to work, I am unable to fulfill these obligations,” Gabrysch wrote in a resignation letter to the mayor. She added that it “became clear that continuing in this position would mean compromising my integrity and my professional obligations.” “Throughout my career, I have always upheld the highest standards of financial integrity and transparency. During my short time as chief financial officer, I diligently fulfilled that duty,” she wrote.
The mayor’s office said it accepted Gabrysch’s resignation, which takes effect “immediately.” “The City of Chicago is facing a serious budget crisis resulting from decades of mismanagement. It is troubling that during her short tenure, Ashlee was largely absent at key moments in the city’s budget preparation process. Moreover, her decision to direct the city treasurer to make a $75 million payment without proper legal authority and bypassing required procedures raises serious concerns,” the mayor’s spokesperson said in a statement.
“Our administration repeatedly tried to meet with her to discuss this action and obtain an explanation, including just before she publicly announced her resignation. Those attempts went unanswered,” the statement continued. The mayor’s spokesperson said Gabrysch “acted without legal authority and in violation of established legislative procedures by ordering the city treasurer to make a $75 million payment before the Nov. 2 provisions took effect.”
“She was required to wait until the mayor signed or vetoed the bill, or until the provisions took effect automatically at the next City Council meeting,” Johnson’s spokesperson said. Gabrysch described this as “an attempt to distract from serious problems and to attack those who are trying to hold the authorities accountable,” adding that such behavior is “disappointing, though not surprising.”
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Source: Polski.FM
