Clinée Hedspeth, Chicago’s cultural commissioner and an ardent ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson, has resigned from her post at the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Richard Logan, a co-chair of the department’s Cultural Advisory Council, announced Hedspeth’s resignation at a Tuesday meeting of the advisory council.
In a statement, the mayor’s press office said, “Mayor Johnson has immediately begun the search for a new commissioner who will work to protect Chicago from the Trump administration’s cuts to cultural grants and institutions.”
Hedspeth, a former art appraiser and one-time legislative aide to Johnson during his time as Cook County commissioner, had been the leader of the city’s cultural affairs department since March 2024. Johnson, who has known Hedspeth since college, appointed her after ousting her predecessor, Erin Harkey, who was a holdover from the Lori Lightfoot administration.
From the beginning, Hedspeth’s tenure was marked by turmoil. As WBEZ first reported, 18% of the department turned over in Hedspeth’s first six months on the job. At the time, a former staffer said that the department had become “discouraging” and “disconnected” under Hedspeth.
Before reaching her year anniversary in the post, Hedspeth faced bullying accusations from several staffers. By spring, a group of more than 140 artists under the banner of Artists for Chicago called on Johnson to address the dysfunction within the department.
At the time, Hedspeth said in a statement to WBEZ that she was “steadfast” in “supporting and empowering this community.”
“Since my appointment last year, I have been deeply focused on navigating the complexities of our evolving arts landscape in a post-pandemic world,” Hedspeth said in the statement in April. “The arts are a cornerstone of Chicago’s identity, and I am committed to ensuring that DCASE remains a robust partner for artists, cultural organizations, and our communities.”
DCASE oversees large-scale events, such as Taste of Chicago and Blues Fest, as well as neighborhood programming. The agency also directs grants to artists and organizations — a function that has become even more vital to the local cultural sector after President Donald Trump’s administration has clawed back federal funding via the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.
As arts groups began to grapple with the reality of funding cuts, Hedspeth said the city would step up to offer grants between $10,000 and $25,000 in a special pop-up window, though it did not readily disclose how much money was available. Under Hedspeth’s tenure, the department also gave grants to 245 artists through its Individual Artists Program, a near-record number of individuals who had received money through the program since 2019.
Hedspeth did not immediately respond to WBEZ’s request for comment Tuesday.
In August, DCASE appointed Kim Grigsby as its first deputy commissioner. When asked by WBEZ on Tuesday if Grigsby would now become acting commissioner, a DCASE spokesperson said she had no comment.
Following the news of Hedspeth’s resignation, Karla Estela Rivera, with Artists For Chicago, told WBEZ on Tuesday that it is the group’s hope that the next DCASE commissioner will be “deeply aligned and rooted in the Chicago arts community” and “ready to roll up their sleeves in collaboration with us to meet this critical moment in our history.”
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.