The Chicago Housing Authority was considering six finalists for its long-vacant CEO job as of early October — and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for the job, retired Ald. Walter Burnett, is unlikely to get the role.
Records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show four public housing CEOs and executive directors, along with the agency’s current chief of staff, Kemena Brooks, in addition to Burnett.
The candidates include Gregg Fortner, of the Anniston Housing Authority in Alabama; Jillian Baldwin, of the Housing Authority of the city of Bridgeport in Connecticut; Keith Pettigrew, of the District of Columbia Housing Authority; and Eugene Jones Jr., currently at the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority and who was the CHA’s CEO until 2019. Jones was first reported as a candidate by the Chicago Tribune in June.
The CHA — the third-largest public housing authority in the nation — has been without a permanent leader for one year. Johnson and the embattled housing authority have found themselves in a clash with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over the appointment of Burnett and his apparent conflicts of interest.
After former CEO Tracey Scott resigned Nov. 1, 2024, the housing authority launched a national search to find its next CEO, saying it would appoint a new leader come summer 2025.
The CEO would be responsible for 65,000 households and oversee more than 21,000 housing units in Chicago. The housing authority is the largest single owner of rental housing in the city.
CHA declined to comment. The mayor’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Matthew Brewer, CHA board chair and temporary operating chairman, said in a recent interview with the Sun-Times that he expects a permanent CEO to be appointed by the end of the year.
CHA’s last scheduled board meeting for this year is Nov. 18, but the agency could add a special board meeting to the calendar. The agency needs to ensure that it can “continue to move forward,” Brewer said.
At a special board meeting on Oct. 15, the commissioners passed a resolution for Brewer to continue serving as operating chairman and to forge ahead with the CEO selection process. Brewer described the resolution as “a statement” to show the public that the board is proceeding with the process.
The board is unable to consider Burnett as a candidate until the agency receives HUD-approved conflict waivers — a process derailed due to the government shutdown. Brewer said in the interview that the board will consider other candidates.
Burnett’s apparent conflicts of interest, according to the Chicago agency and HUD, lie with his 30-year record as alderperson and longtime ownership of properties rented to housing voucher holders. Burnett and his wife have collected more than $260,000 since 2007 as CHA voucher landlords.
The Chicago HUD office will review the waiver requests, make a recommendation on the waivers to HUD officials in Washington, D.C., and send a formal response to the Chicago agency.
Interim CEO Angela Hurlock stepped down Sept. 2, the same day the agency had anticipated appointing Burnett. But the process was derailed because of HUD’s waiver request. Brewer, who was interim board chair during Hurlock’s tenure, then assumed his current roles. Brewer said the board expected only a delay of a week or two.
The documents obtained by the Sun-Times included candidates’ resumes and answers to application questions.
Fortner — who said in his application that his weaknesses are “wearing a tie and uncomfortable shoes” — has served as the CEO in Alabama since 2022. He previously led housing authorities in New Orleans and Miami. In his application, he said his management style is “inclusive with concentration on team building.”
Baldwin took the helm of the Connecticut agency in 2020. Prior to that role, she led a housing authority in Colorado and was a deputy director at the Gary Housing Authority in Indiana. She described her leadership style as “collaborative, transparent, and results driven” in her application. For areas to improve on, she wrote “delegation” and “navigating complex bureaucracy.”
Pettigrew told the Sun-Times in a text that while he was “recruited for the position and explored the opportunity,” he withdrew from consideration in May. He declined to discuss why he chose not to pursue the role.
Pettigrew started his job as executive director in Washington at the end of 2023. He previously served as CEO of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority in Virginia and has also worked for the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
Brooks was hired as the CHA’s chief of staff in May. She previously worked in real estate development. Brooks said in her application she is “collaborative, mission-driven, and results-oriented” and noted her lack of experience with HUD regulations and “housing authority processes that impact long-term operations and compliance.”
Jones led the CHA for over four years, leaving to run the Atlanta Housing Authority. He has the support of the Chicago agency’s resident leaders. Some local housing advocates don’t feel the same way as residents, having said they don’t want a second go-round with Jones. The documents obtained by the Sun-Times didn’t include application answers for Jones.
CHA resident leaders have also said they don’t want Burnett as the next CEO because he doesn’t care about public housing residents. Burnett, who grew up in public housing, has disagreed with those sentiments and wrote in his application that his weaknesses are “I care too much and try to help everyone.” He said his leadership style is “collaborative.”
Burnett, Brooks, Baldwin and Fortner didn’t respond to requests for comment. Jones declined to comment.
Fortner, Baldwin, Pettigrew and Jones all have experience leading agencies that were considered “troubled” by HUD before they took on their roles, according to their applications and publicly available information.
The CHA is not on HUD’s list of underperforming agencies, but it has had its fair share of issues this year.
In addition to the CEO departure, eight other high-ranking officials have left the agency since August 2024, including three who were fired. The latest senior leader to exit was the deputy chief of human resources in September.
The CHA has acknowledged that it’s undergoing a “significant transition.”