Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson on Thursday fleshed out the senior staff who will accompany him into office in a way that shows the continued influence of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Chicago Teachers Union.
Annette Guzman, Preckwinkle’s budget director for Cook County government, will be the city’s budget director under Johnson. She replaces Susie Park, who has spent the last four years as part of a triumvirate of women credited with engineering a financial turnaround under outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot. That turnaround includes a record-low, $85 million shortfall, a $272 million pension pre-payment and 13 bond rating upgrades.
