Keith Pettigrew Named Chicago Housing Authority Chief

The Chicago Housing Authority finally has a new leader after more than a year of false starts, political maneuvering and federal scrutiny.

The CHA board voted Tuesday to appoint Keith Pettigrew, the executive director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, as its next CEO, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The 7-2 vote with one abstention capped an 18-month search to replace former chief Tracey Scott, who resigned in November 2024.

Pettigrew’s selection also represents a win for the CHA board in its power struggle with Mayor Brandon Johnson, who had backed former alderman Walter Burnett for the job. Burnett, however, could not be formally considered because the agency lacks federal conflict-of-interest waivers tied to his decades on the City Council and his history as a landlord to CHA voucher tenants, according to the publication.

Burnett and his wife have collected more than $260,000 in CHA-backed rents since 2007, according to prior reporting. Those ties required approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development before he could lead the Chicago agency — a process that has stalled while awaiting a determination from HUD’s Washington headquarters.

Board Chair and interim board head Matthew Brewer said during the meeting that Pettigrew brings experience navigating crises in public housing systems. Before leading the D.C. housing authority, Pettigrew helped steer the New Orleans housing agency out of federal receivership after Hurricane Katrina.

The path to naming a new CEO has been anything but smooth. CHA initially said it expected to appoint Scott’s successor by summer 2025, but the search repeatedly stalled as finalists withdrew or political tensions escalated.

Jillian Baldwin, a leading contender who runs the housing authority in Bridgeport, Connecticut, exited the process in January and chose to remain in her current role. Pettigrew himself previously told the Sun-Times he had withdrawn his application last spring before ultimately returning as a finalist.

The leadership change comes at a sensitive moment for the CHA, which oversees more than 21,000 public housing units and provides vouchers for roughly 65,000 households — making it the city’s largest housing owner. The agency is also navigating internal turmoil, with nine top executives departing since last summer and an ongoing standoff with HUD tied to the mayor’s push to install Burnett.

— Eric Weilbacher