Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget director, Annette Guzman, stepping down at City Hall

Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget director, Annette Guzman, is stepping down from her post, the mayor's office confirmed Monday night.

Guzman has served as Johnson's budget director since he took office in 2023. While the mayor's office termed Guzman's departure as the mayor granting her "time away from her role to focus on caring for her family," there was no indication of if or when she would resume her duties.

"I want to thank Budget Director Annette Guzman for her extraordinary leadership and dedicated service to the people of Chicago," Johnson said in a statement. "As Annette steps away from her role to focus on caring for her family, we are deeply grateful for all she has done for our City and wish her and her loved ones nothing but the very best. Family comes first, and we stand with her during this important time."

Crain's Chicago Business reports Guzman emailed her staff on Monday to inform them she would be resigning on Tuesday morning. Guzman's own public statement also suggested her departure likely is permanent.

"It has been an honor to serve under Mayor Johnson's leadership and to support an administration that is committed to standing up for working residents and advancing a vision for a safer, more affordable Chicago. I am deeply grateful to Mayor Johnson for the opportunity to serve, for his trust, and for his leadership," Guzman said. "As I step away to focus on my family, I am confident that the talented team we have built and prepared at the Office of Budget & Management will continue carrying out this important work and advancing the Mayor's vision for our City." 

Johnson is tapping Guzman's top deputy, Jonathan Ernst, to serve as acting budget director.

Guzman is leaving the Johnson administration just a week after his acting chief financial officer, Steven Mahr, departed after only eight months on the job, leaving two of the mayor's top three financial adviser posts without a permanent leader.

The resignations leave Johnson's financial leadership team significantly depleted as the city prepares to unveil an updated budget forecast that will outline the projected 2027 shortfall the mayor and the City Council must close by the end of the year.

The mayor typically presents his annual budget address in October, followed by weeks of budget hearings with the city's various departments.

As of last August, the city was projecting a $1.16 billion budget shortfall in 2027.

Facing a similar shortfall last year, Johnson faced a revolt from the City Council, with a coalition of the mayor's opponents approving a $16.6 billion spending plan that Johnson opposed.

While Mayor Johnson had backed a corporate head tax to generate an estimated $100 million in new revenue, his opponents' budget relied on an increase in the city's plastic bag tax, overhauling the tax on off-premise liquor sales; legalizing video gambling terminals in Chicago, and opening up new advertising opportunities.

Johnson likely will face another tough fight on the budget this year, and will have to do it with two senior financial aides who will have only been on the job a matter of weeks once budget negotiations begin.

The statement from the Mayor's office added, not directly quoting the mayor, "The Johnson administration remains committed to delivering a balanced budget that invests in our people, protects our fiscal stability, and continues building a safer, more affordable Chicago for all residents."

The City Council Budget Accountability Coalition, which opposes the mayor's fiscal policies, raised alarm about Guzman's resignation — noting that it was "the latest in a string of senior officials leaving the Johnson administration."

"This continued turnover comes at a pivotal moment as his office prepares for the FY2027 budget and on the heels of his administration's failures to execute on generating revenues included in FY2026 budget as passed by City Council," the coalition said. "Given this continued wave of leadership team departures from City Hall, the mayor needs to provide the public with a full accounting of when and how his administration will deliver on a budget proposal that continues to address structural revenues, efficiencies and reforms needed to close an expected $1 billion FY2027 budget gap, avoid a credit downgrade and put Chicago back on solid fiscal footing." 

Meanwhile at a briefing on Tuesday, the mayor was asked whether Chicagoans should be worried about stability in his administration given the recent departures.

"They have stability — stability in me. Again, one person doesn't run the operation around here. It's a collection, right?" said Mayor Johnson. "And even after, you know, others have transitioned out, it has not stopped us from being the safest, most affordable big city in America."

The mayor said he is confident that he will be able to deliver a budget in October as is typical.