Disputes over COVID policy, mental health centers led to Arwady's firing, expert says
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's firing of Dr. Allison Arwady as the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health came about due to two main issues, according to one longtime City Hall observer.
Arwady was let go on Friday.
She said in a social media post that she was not even allowed to say goodbye to her staff.
On Sunday CBS 2 asked Johnson why.
"Having a better, stronger, safer Chicago really requires all of us to come together and continue to build the type of confidence that the City of Chicago wants in this leadership and that's what we're reflecting. That's what I'm looking for to leading in the future," he said.
Johnson was asked again on Monday about his firing of Arwady.
"Every single administration has to be prepared for transition and my administration is no different in that regard," Johnson said. "Transition is difficult for everyone."
Johnson also appeared to be refuting reports about how his administration handled the firing by quoting rapper Tupac Shakur.
"I don't know how many times you're allowed to quote Tupac in a press conference, but 'You can't always go by the things that you hear. Real eyes, realize ...real lies,'" he said.
Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and political science professor emeritus, told CBS 2 that Arwady's firing came about after disputes over two key issues. The first was a difference of opinion between Arwady and the Chicago Teachers Union, which Johnson was a member of, over when the city should reopen schools for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That created a riff between both the CTU and Mayor Johnson and Arwady," Simpson said.
The second issue was over how the city should deliver mental health services. Simpson noted that Johnson has advocated for reopening shuttered mental health centers, but while Arwady has been trying to increase services, she hasn't been in favor of reopening centers.
Simpson added that he thought Johnson's administration could have handled Arwady's ouster differently.
"It wasn't done very gracefully," Simpson said. "He could have easily met with Arwady. They could have come to a decision to part ways. She could have been allowed to resign as the other members of the cabinet in Lori Lightfoot's administration have begun to do."
So far, Arwady's successor has not been named.