2023 Mayoral Transition
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson only had six weeks to set his new administration up to effectively govern 2.7 million Chicagoans – many of whom are still mired in the economic, health, and educational challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
This incoming administration, like those that preceded it, faced the challenging process of transitioning from campaigning to the work of governing. As we have done* at the critical juncture between election and inaguration, Civic Consulting Alliance and our pro bono partners contributed to building a strong foundation for the new administration to effectively govern without losing progress on pandemic recovery efforts.
With the help of more than 19 partners and approximately 50 members of our staff and our partners’ staff, we provided $2.8 million in pro bono services to support Mayor-elect Johnson as he prepared to take the helm of the City at a time of great challenges and change. Our support for Mayor Johnson’s transition team included:
To ensure that the new administration had a strong leadership team in place from the start, we developed and helped implement a robust process to expedite the hiring of 15 priority roles that needed to be ready on Day 1.
Partners: Analytics8, CIBC, Koya Partners, Mayer Brown LLP, Russell Reynolds Associates
Building the Team
For Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s team, Civic Consulting Alliance planned, executed, and synthesized 67 briefing meetings over the course of four weeks. This work was particularly urgent as the City continues to leverage American Rescue Plan Act resources to achieve an inclusive and equitable recovery, a priority Civic Consulting Alliance has supported since 2021.
Partners: CIBC, BCG, McKinsey & Company, Protiviti
Facilitating Knowledge Sharing
Address Ongoing and Critical Issues
Leading up to the Inauguration, two issues were poised to reach inflection points: the City needed to prepare for an additional influx of asylum seekers in anticipation of Title 42 expiring; and the new administration would only have two weeks in office to prepare for an expected Memorial Day uptick in gun violence. Civic Consulting Alliance was uniquely positioned to help the transition team plan its response and build a knowledge base for incoming permanent staff.
To support asylum seeker response, we provided project management support and recommendations to the transition team’s “new arrivals hub” in order to equip the new administration with context and strategy on the topic. For summer safety planning, we created a project management structure and worked to enact the Mayor-Elect’s priority to offer safe public spaces and youth activities over Memorial Day weekend.
Partner: United Way of Metro Chicago
Strengthening Relationships Through Engagement
We developed a plan for engaging nearly 400 diverse stakeholders and providing the critical project management necessary to launch and manage 11 issue-focused subcommittees and one overarching transition committee tasked with delivering recommendations to the Mayor.
The report, “Building Bridges and Growing the Soul of Chicago: A Blueprint for Creating a More Just and Vibrant City for All” was released in early July. We encourage you to read and learn what Chicagoans’ priorities are for the Johnson administration.
Partners: Allies for Community Business, Bain & Company, Choose Chicago, CMAP, Crossroads Fund, Illinois Environmental Council, Mayer Brown LLP, McKinsey & Company, Northwestern University CORNERS, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, Slalom, UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, World Business Chicago
Program Management
We provided coordination and planning across teams to keep priorities on-track.
The six-week sprint of work between the Runoff election and Inauguration ensured that mayor-elect Brandon Johnson had his priority team in place – as well as an informed understanding of critical issues – to be ready to govern on Day 1 as Chicago’s 57th mayor. This effort was made possible by the collaboration of many people, including: Chicago for the People Transition Team, Civic Consulting Alliance’s staff, our pro bono partners, and the support of our generous funders.
In Crain’s Chicago Business article, “Johnson's ambitions prepare to meet Chicago's reality” outline the complex challenges that Mayor Johnson’s administration will face in the coming years: the ongoing asylum seeker crisis, CTA and CPS fiscal cliffs, CPD consent decree and the search for a new superintendent, and the ongoing challenge of gun violence. As we have done since Mayor Harold Washington’s tenure, we look forward to supporting the Mayor’s Office to help advance systems-level solutions that untangle interconnected issues like economic and educational opportunity gaps, violence, and injustice that affect residents.
“Civic Consulting Alliance’s exceptional organizational skills, cross-sector connections, and tenacity to tackle Chicago’s most pressing issues were crucial to helping my team smoothly transition into office.”
*Civic Consulting Alliance has a successful track record of supporting transitions for newly elected officials at the City, County, and State level, including the Emanuel, Lightfoot, Preckwinkle, and Rauner administrations.