Mayor Brandon Johnson’s communications director is leaving City Hall, sources told the Tribune Wednesday.
Ronnie Reese, who led Johnson’s press office since the transition in May 2023, will exit the role after a tumultuous year-and-a-half that’s seen the administration struggle at times with media strategy. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the mayor said Johnson press secretary Erin Connelly has been appointed acting communications director and will run the mayor’s press office moving forward.
The departure follows a series of other shakeups among Johnson’s team this year, including multiple exits in his intergovernmental affairs office, which handles lobbying the City Council and other bodies. Earlier this spring, his first chief of staff Rich Guidice also resigned and was replaced by his deputy, Cristina Pacione-Zayas.
Before working for the administration, Reese was press secretary for the Johnson campaign. He also has worked in communications at the Chicago Teachers Union, where Johnson had served as a political director.
During his time leading the mayor’s media operations, the press office saw a high degree of turnover as well as personnel flaps. One of the latter issues blew up when three city staffers on Reese’s digital team were placed on the do-not-hire list after complaining about treatment from Reese and Johnson’s senior advisor, Jason Lee. Reese responded in an internal memo accusing of the staffers of being insubordinate.
