Brandon Johnson is responding to questions after saying he was unaware of a hostile work environment complaint filed by two of his top aides months before they were fired.
Advertisement
According to reports from CBS News Chicago, the complaint was filed before the aides, deputy mayor for community safety Garien Gatewood, and director of violence prevention and community safety, Manny Whitfield, were terminated last week. Speaking on Tuesday, Johnson said he was unaware of the complaint when the decision to dismiss the employees was made.
Whitfield said he believes they were fired for seeking to hold another employee accountable for insufficient job performance.
“My gut tells me that it was retaliation for holding somebody accountable; for putting somebody on a performance improvement plan, for attempting to put somebody on a performance improvement plan, because I made the attempt with [the Department of Human Resources]. We were supposed to meet to finalize it, and it didn’t happen,” Whitfield said.
Both Gatewood and Whitfield have said they were not given a reason for their removal, only that the administration was “moving in a different direction.”
Advertisement
The controversy comes as Johnson’s administration continues to face public scrutiny over staffing decisions and workplace culture. City leaders and residents alike are now waiting to see whether further investigations or internal reviews will be conducted.
As the situation develops, officials are expected to provide more clarity on how workplace complaints are handled and whether changes to reporting procedures may be needed moving forward.
