Chicago Housing CEO Search Hits Snag as Top Candidate Exits

The Chicago Housing Authority’s already protracted search for a permanent CEO just got longer.

Jillian Baldwin, one of six finalists — and the board’s apparent top choice — withdrew from consideration, opting instead to remain in her current role leading the housing authority in Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Post. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Baldwin decided to stay after negotiating with city leaders there, and she declined to comment when reached by the outlet.

The exit sends CHA back to the drawing board nearly after former CEO Tracey Scott resigned on Nov. 1, 2024. At the time, the authority said it expected to name a successor by summer 2025. The job remains unfilled, with no clear timeline for resolution.

Baldwin’s departure is notable not just for the delay it causes, but for what it says about the job itself. Baldwin earns about $300,000 in Bridgeport, roughly in line with what she would have made in Chicago. Scott’s salary was around $311,000 when she left. Compensation, at least on paper, wasn’t the sticking point.

CHA board member and resident Francine Washington told the outlet that Baldwin was the board’s No. 1 candidate, and that residents cannot wait any longer.

Instead, the authority remains mired in governance turmoil and a public standoff with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Much of that conflict centers on retired Alderman Walter Burnett, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s preferred candidate for the job.

Burnett, one of the original finalists, cannot currently be considered because CHA lacks HUD-approved conflict of interest waivers. Those waivers are tied to Burnett’s three decades on City Council and his longstanding role as a landlord to CHA voucher holders. Burnett and his wife have collected more than $260,000 since 2007 from CHA-backed rents.

The waiver process stalled during last year’s government shutdown and is now awaiting a final determination from HUD’s Washington headquarters, according to a HUD official. CHA resident leaders have vocally opposed Burnett’s candidacy, arguing he is out of touch with public housing tenants — a charge Burnett disputes.

Burnett has taken his case public, recently urging supporters on Facebook to send prewritten letters to HUD Secretary Scott Turner backing his candidacy. His wife, Darlena Williams-Burnett, also weighed in online. She previously resigned from CHA after being found to have violated the agency’s ethics policy, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Other candidates have thinned out, according to the Sun-Times. Keith Pettigrew of the District of Columbia Housing Authority has withdrawn. Eugene Jones Jr., CHA’s CEO until 2019, remains in the mix, as does Gregg Fortner, formerly of the Anniston Housing Authority in Alabama.

Whoever eventually takes the job will inherit oversight of 65,000 households, more than 21,000 units and a $1.4 billion budget — and an agency running out of patience. The CHA board meets next on Jan. 20.

— Eric Weilbacher