Dive Brief:

• Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Ashlee Brianne Gabrysch — who most recently served as senior director at Fitch Ratings, where she was a lead analyst covering the city — to fill its vacant CFO seat, according to a Monday press release.
• The appointment comes as the city’s financial leadership has been hit by a series of high profile losses. Acting CFO Steven Mahr, who stepped into the role last winter after former CFO Jill Jaworski left City Hall for Navy Pier, exited abruptly last month, CFO Dive prevoiusly reported. Meanwhile, former Deputy CFO Noor Shaikh and ex-Budget Director Annette Guzman have also recently departed.
• In announcing her appointment, Johnson cited Gabrysch’s expertise and knowledge of Chicago and Illinois fiscal policy and credit analysis. She understands “sound financial management requires building the long-term stability necessary to continue making investments in neighborhoods, deliver essential services and create a safer, a more affordable Chicago,” Brandon said in a statement in the release. 

Dive Insight:

Gabrysch brings strong Midwestern experience and roots to her new post. 

As Fitch’s mid-central region manager, she not only covered Chicago and the state of Illinois as lead analyst since 2019, but oversaw credit analysis of more than $50 billion in state and local government issuers, according to the Monday release. She has also worked at the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office and served three years in the Cook County Office of the CFO as a financial research analyst. 

She holds a master’s degree in public policy and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary Slavic studies from the University of Chicago, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

For now, her appointment is a hopeful sign, according to a statement from the Civic Federation, an independent non-partisan government research organization that provides fiscal analysis of Illinois and the city of Chicago.

"Given Ashlee’s background, the appointment sends a promising signal,” the Civic Federation said in a statement sent to CFO Dive. “She understands the importance of the financial signals the City sends and how they factor into rating agency and market considerations. The proof will be in the actions that follow, and the Civic Federation will be watching closely to see how her experience translates into the City’s financial management and decision-making, particularly as the City confronts a difficult budget season in the months ahead." 

The choice also raised some eyebrows. A Wednesday editorial in The Chicago Tribune noted that in February, Gabrysch was one of the Fitch analysts who downgraded the city’s general-obligation credit rating, noting that at the time the credit rating agency’s report was “bluntly critical of the Johnson administration’s sale of over $500 million in taxable bond in large part to cover operational costs.”  

Fitch assigned a ‘BBB+’ rating to GO bonds issued by the city of Chicago, which were $487.5 million in taxable series 2026A and $15.5 million in taxable series 2026B, according to a Feb. 25 Fitch release.  

“The downgrade of Chicago's IDR and GO rating reflects consecutive operating deficits since 2023, the still high dependence on non-structural solutions and assumptions underpinning the adopted 2026 budget, persistent out-year gaps, and ongoing disagreements between the administration and the city council,” the release states.