Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief operating officer, John Roberson, is leaving the administration, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA.
Roberson is exiting the mayor’s office to join the Obama Foundation, according to two sources with knowledge of his plans. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson’s inner circle with previous City Hall experience.
A source close to the mayor said Roberson is also no longer being considered to lead to the CTA.
Roberson, as well as a spokesperson for the Obama Foundation, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Roberson’s transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision.
Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly.
The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention’s arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage.
For the last several weeks, Roberson has been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared that the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA, which has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Those activists sought a thorough search process for the agency’s new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system.
A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition.
Guidice left as Johnson’s chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023.
