Mary Richardson-Lowry retiring as top lawyer at Chicago City Hall, Mayor Brandon Johnson taps Renee Hatcher as replacement

Chicago Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry, who has served as Mayor Brandon Johnson's top attorney since he took office, is retiring from her post, and the mayor is tapping University of Illinois Chicago professor Renee Hatcher as her replacement.

Richardson-Lowry was the first Black woman to serve as corporation counsel at City Hall when Johnson appointed her after taking office in May 2023. She is the latest top aide to Johnson to step down from his administration.

"Mary has been a trusted partner and a key voice at my side throughout my tenure as Mayor," Johnson said in a statement. "She has helped guide this administration through some of the most consequential legal challenges facing our city, while always bringing a deep commitment to public service and protecting the people of Chicago. I am deeply grateful for Mary's service, leadership, and partnership, and I wish her all the best in her next chapter."

Hatcher is a clinical professor of law at UIC, where she also serves as director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic. The mayor's office said, in that role, she provides legal support to community-based businesses, cooperatives, and organizations in an effort to support healthy neighborhoods.

A graduate of Indiana University and Harvard Law School, she also previously was a staff attorney at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, served as co-director of the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem Initiative at UIC, and as a member of the city's Community Wealth Building Advisory Committee. She also served as a member of Johnson's transition team before he took office.

"Throughout my career, I have partnered with communities to use the law to build economic power, strengthen neighborhoods, and advance justice with working people," Hatcher said in a statement. "That work has been rooted in the communities I have had the privilege to stand alongside, and in the Chicagoans who have long fought, and continue to fight, for a more equitable city."

Hatcher's appointment as Richardson-Lowry's replacement is subject to City Council approval.

In recent months, several other members of Johnson's cabinet also have left City Hall, including Police Supt. Larry Snelling who retired in July, Budget Director Annette Guzman who stepped down last month, Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski who left in January, and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige who stepped down in May.

In March, Johnson fired Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood and director of violence prevention and community safety Manny Whitfield.