Mayor Brandon Johnson moves to demote Chicago Housing Authority Board chairman amid dispute over new CEO

A potential legal battle is brewing between Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Housing Authority, over the board's choice for a new CEO.

Last month, the CHA Board voted 7-2 to hire Keith Pettigrew as CEO of the agency over Johnson's objection.

On Wednesday, Johnson demoted CHA Board Chair Matthew Brewer, saying the process that led to Pettigrew's appointment violated state law.

"Mr. Brewer's actions were in direct violation of the Open Meetings Act and long-standing CHA Board precedent. The resolution to appoint a CEO was not properly noticed prior to the March 17 meeting and still has not been included in the publicly available agenda materials, effectively denying Board members, CHA residents, and the public the opportunity to participate or the transparency required in decisions of this magnitude," Johnson said. "His stewardship of this process disenfranchised both fellow Commissioners and the communities the CHA serves."

The mayor also claimed the board's move to appoint Brewer as the agency's operating chairman last September was illegal, and he declared any actions brewer took are quote "null and void."

Brewer responded to the mayor's actions with a statement reading in part, "the mayor may disagree with the outcome, but rewriting the facts doesn't change them and mischaracterizing the law does not change the actual law."

Pettigrew is still set to assume the position of CEO later this month.

Johnson will either need to seek a court order to block Pettigrew's appointment, or convince the board to fire him, which would require approval from 8 of the 10 board members.