Chicago: Ashlee Gabrish, the Chief Financial Officer of the city of Chicago, resigned on Friday amid an ongoing dispute between the mayor and the city council over the 2027 city budget. Gabrish, who was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in August, served in the position for only three months.
In her resignation letter, Gabrish stated that it was her responsibility to provide investors, credit rating agencies, the city council, and taxpayers with complete and accurate information about the city’s financial condition. She added that under the current circumstances, she was unable to fulfill this duty and that remaining in office would amount to an abdication of her professional responsibilities. However, she did not specify any particular incident as the cause of her resignation.
The mayor’s office, which announced the acceptance of her resignation, leveled allegations against Gabrish. They claimed that she did not participate sufficiently during critical stages of preparing the $17.6 billion budget and that she had instructed the city treasurer to disburse $75 million without complying with the required legal authority or procedures. The office stated that the matter would be referred to the city’s Inspector General for an independent investigation.
Following the allegations, Gabrish reiterated her position expressed in the resignation letter. The dispute centers on the $75 million that the city received from the new owners of the parking meter system. On November 2, the city council voted 44 to 6 to allocate this amount as additional funding to the city’s pension funds. However, when Gabrish proposed the payment, this decision had not yet taken effect.
Meanwhile, the majority of city council members had already indicated earlier this week that they would not support the mayor’s budget proposal in its current form.
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Original Malayalam report: Malayalam Daily News
