Company Counsel Celia Meza, one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closest and most trusted advisers, stepped down Tuesday, continuing her post-election exodus from the mayor's crummy cabinet.
When his resignation takes effect Friday, Meza will join the former Police Supt. David Brown is leaving city government before Tuesday's runoff election, when Chicago voters will decide whether to make Paul Vallas or Brandon Johnson the 57th mayor of Chicago.
Typically, the $195,708-a-year corporate advisers stick around until after the inauguration as a courtesy to ease the transition to a new mayor.
As the city's chief attorney and head of an in-house law firm with 305 employees, a $32.9 million budget and control over millions of dollars in outside legal fees, corporate counsel has a wealth of knowledge invaluable to the new administration. Without that information, the new mayor and his team could be at a huge disadvantage.
But sources said Meza told his staff on Tuesday that he had another chance, one that was too good to pass up, and he was looking forward to a new challenge. He did not say where he was going or why he could not hold off on starting his new job until after the inauguration in mid-May.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve in Mayor Lightfoot's administration for the past four years in the roles of Mayor's Counsel and Senior Ethics Counsel and as Company Counsel,” Meza was quoted as saying in a statement.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated attorneys and staff of the Law Department and I am confident that they will continue to serve the City of Chicago to the best of their abilities throughout the remainder of this administration and throughout the transition. I look forward to the next chapter in my professional career when I return to the private sector.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall in June 2021. Sitting nearby is appointed Corporate Counsel Celia Meza (left).
The first Latino to ever serve as Chicago attorney, Meza began his career as a legal clerk for Alan Page, a former Bears and Vikings defenseman who later served as Minnesota chief justice.
He was Lightfoot's adviser and senior ethics adviser when the mayor promoted him in 2021 to replace Corporate Counsel Mark Flessner, who was forced out in a political fallout from a police raid on social worker Anjanette Young's home.
At the time, Lightfoot claimed not to have known about Flessner's efforts to block WBBM-TV (Channel 2) from showing the bodycam video of the raid – footage showing a crying, naked and humiliated Young repeatedly told the all-male team of officers that they have invaded. wrong address.
During confirmation hearings, Meza was repeatedly asked how he could provide legal representation to the mayor and City Council when the two groups, at times, had different interests.
“I guarantee I can represent you effectively. Theoretically in my career, there has always been a guillotine over my head. At some point, the client may decide they don't want you,” he later said.
Alderpersons Jeanette Taylor and Ray Lopez later used parliamentary maneuvers to delay Meza's appointment to protest Meza's decision to file a motion to dismiss Young's lawsuit against the city after Young refused to accept what his lawyers saw as a “low-ball” offer to settle the case for $1 million. . The case was later settled for $2.9 million.
Lightfoot was so angry with the delay that he stopped the City Council meeting, marched to the back of the Council room, angrily confronted Taylor, pointing a finger in the alderman's face.
It's not known whether Meza's initial departure had anything to do with Lightfoot's decision to fire the city's longtime chief labor negotiator Jim Franczek for giving a lengthy interview on the Chicago Sun-Times podcast in which he essentially endorsed Vallas over Johnson.
Sources say Lightfoot has also been angered in recent days by the Chicago Police Department's decision to announce a new program – similar to one championed by Vallas – to rehire officers who have left the force and are hunting down others from out of town.