Chicago City Hall top lawyer out in latest Mayor Brandon Johnson administration exit

Jake Sheridan and Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune on Sep 22, 2026

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CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporation counsel is retiring from City Hall, his office announced Tuesday in the latest shakeup of his administration.

Mary Richardson-Lowry, a City Hall veteran from the Mayor Richard M. Daley days, has held the top lawyer role for over three years. To succeed her, Johnson has nominated Renee Hatcher, a law professor and director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at the University of Illinois Chicago, according to a news release. The City Council must approve Hatcher.

“Mary has been a trusted partner and a key voice at my side throughout my tenure as Mayor,” Johnson said in a statement. “She has helped guide this administration through some of the most consequential legal challenges facing our city, while always bringing a deep commitment to public service and protecting the people of Chicago.”

Hatcher also has served as a member of the city’s Community Wealth Building Advisory Committee and Johnson’s transition subcommittee for economic equity. In a statement, she wrote, “Throughout my career, I have partnered with communities to use the law to build economic power, strengthen neighborhoods, and advance justice with working people. … I am grateful for the opportunity to bring my experience to the City of Chicago and to serve the residents of the city I call home.”

Richardson-Lowry has been a key figure from the start of the Johnson administration, often standing behind the mayor during news conferences, before sharing carefully picked words.

Under her leadership, the department reached the city’s first so-called “global settlement” last year aimed at resolving police misconduct-related lawsuits. As she announced the deal, Richardson-Lowry told the Tribune it could save the city over $400 million.

“We spent a lot of years kicking cans down the road,” she said then. “We cannot carry that burden further. We have to solve for these cases. … We have to close that chapter.”

It’s a novel legal approach the city appears poised to soon tap again with another batch of sure-to-be costly police misconduct cases.

Richardson-Lowry was often tight-lipped about city policy as she ran a department that cited ongoing litigation as a reason not to respond to questions.

Her department played a key role in Johnson’s many attempts to resist President Donald Trump’s policies. Richardson-Lowry repeatedly sued the Trump administration in wide-ranging efforts that included bids to challenge Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” federal immigration surge and several Trump efforts to cut federal funding to the city.

Richardson-Lowry also spearheaded an effort to sue gun manufacturer Glock, alleging the company’s handguns were too easily modified with components that effectively made them automatic weapons. The company decided to discontinue its pistol models amid the legal pressure, a decision Richardson-Lowry celebrated after its announcement.

“Glock’s recently reported decision to discontinue its current models is an important step towards curbing the spread of illegal guns on our streets,” she said in a statement at the time.

Richardson-Lowry began her career in the city’s Law Department four decades ago and went on to serve as a Department of Buildings commissioner under Mayor Richard M. Daley before entering private practice, then returning to City Hall as Johnson took office.

“From the beginning, my goal was not simply to manage the challenge in front of us, but to leave the Department stronger and better equipped for the challenges that would come next,” Richardson-Lowry said in a statement. “We changed how we assess risk, how we manage complex litigation, and how we oversee taxpayer resources. I’m proud of what our team has built, and I am grateful to Mayor Johnson for the opportunity to serve in this historic role.”

Her departure follows a recent string of other exits from the Johnson administration, as well as some announcements on new blood. The mayor last week appointed Tiheta L. Hinton to lead the city’s Department of Human Resources after Sandra Blakemore’s departure, and JuanPablo Prieto as commissioner of the Department of Fleet and Facility Management, after Julie Hernandez-Tomlin left.

Other departures in the last several months include his communications director Erin Connelly, who has been replaced by influencer Rachel Cohen; budget director Annette Guzman, replaced on an interim basis by Jonathan Ernst; acting CFO Steven Mahr, replaced by Ashlee Brianne Gabrysch; Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige, replaced by Dr. Garth Walker; and business affairs chief Ivan Capifali, whose successor has not been announced.

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