Mayor Brandon Johnson has fired Garien Gatewood, the deputy mayor who led the administration’s community-safety work, according to a source cited by CBS Chicago. Gatewood had been Johnson’s point person on the People’s Plan for Community Safety and other violence-prevention initiatives. City Hall has not publicly explained the decision.
CBS Chicago first reported that Johnson created the deputy-mayor role days after taking office in 2023 and tapped Gatewood to coordinate cross-government efforts aimed at the root causes of crime and violence. The outlet also noted that the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment and that officials have not released a reason for Gatewood’s dismissal.
Gatewood's background
Before joining City Hall, Gatewood led the Illinois Justice Project, a reform-focused nonprofit centered on violence reduction and reentry, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times reported that Johnson created the community-safety deputy role in 2023 to highlight prevention, services, and cross-agency coordination rather than relying solely on an intermediary between City Hall and the police.
What he oversaw
Gatewood oversaw pieces of the People’s Plan for Community Safety and regularly convened interagency work on violence-prevention strategies. That portfolio included a task force to examine extremism in city departments and pilots for alternatives to existing gun-detection systems. Reporting by WTTW and city planning documents show he was often the public face of those cross-government efforts.
Political ripple effects
Johnson’s public-safety decisions, from ending the ShotSpotter deployment to clashes with the City Council over curfew authority, repeatedly put Gatewood at the center of heated policy debates, according to local reporting. For background on the technology fight, see how the city ended its ShotSpotter deployment, and Axios has detailed how curfew proposals would have placed Gatewood in a central implementation role. Axios reported that the curfew measure envisioned consultation with the deputy mayor for community safety.
It is not yet known who will replace Gatewood or whether the mayor will name an interim deputy. Community groups, aldermen, and police leaders say they are waiting for more details from City Hall. This story will be updated when the mayor’s office or other officials provide additional information.
