Chicago City Wire

On May 12, newly sworn-in Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he plans to install former Chicago Teachers Union chief of staff Jennifer Johnson as his deputy mayor for education, youth and human services.

Johnson also installed one-time county budget director Annette C.M. Guzman and Jill Jaworski, a former managing director and partner at PFM Financial Advisors since 2010, as top staffers in his new administration.

“These appointments reflect our policy priorities and strategic goals as we set a bold agenda for the next four years," Johnson said in a news release. "Together we can achieve our vision for sustainable, thriving communities, responsive services for our children and most vulnerable, and a budget that illustrates our values as a city.”

In his first hours as mayor, Johnson signed three executive orders establishing new deputy mayor positions: A deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, a deputy mayor for community safety, and a deputy mayor for labor relations.

Johnson was one of nine candidates for mayor in the Feb. 28 election.

Johnson knocked off former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in the April 4 runoff election with 51% of the vote, after his opponent publicly sought to make his CPS connections a liability by intimating that it would make him too beholden to the Chicago Teachers Union.

A one-time history teacher at Lincoln Park High School, Johnson left the classroom after a decade to manage the staff and budget of the nearly 30,000-member teachers union. He gained prominence during the 2019 strike and subsequent work actions related to COVID-19 safety precautions.