Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Following the narrow passage of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget in the middle of last month, a number of shake ups hit local government in the last two weeks of the calendar year, a year that included an increasingly independent City Council and multiple personnel-related scandals and controversies within the mayor’s office. 

Several high-profile city departures were announced, and new, appointed Chicago Board of Education members voted to fire embattled Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez just weeks before a new hybrid elected board is set to be sworn in, prompting legal action by Martinez. 

Related: Council approves revised $17.1B city budget, though opponents warn it delays necessary cuts, structural reforms