So Mayor Brandon Johnson, in that by-now-trademark fashion of his to deny everything he isn’t taking credit for, says he first learned of the problems with his former communications director, Ronnie Reese, when allegations of bad behavior became public.
Which leads me to this question. Did he ever talk to the man?
Because I did, and was it memorable.
I shouldn’t bother going into this. You don’t care about the inner workings of city government, do you? Because I tend to bypass the gritty details. To me, politics are like sports: The same thing happening over and over.
But maybe I’m wrong. For instance, when Johnson quietly jettisoned his communications director in October, I did notice. And set my hands on the keyboard. Then sighed, rolled my eyes and found another topic. It appeared to be just another spin of the revolving door in an administration that long ago assumed the quality of a crashing airplane in a Bugs Bunny cartoon: a higher and higher aerodynamic whine, leading to the inevitable splat.
But now the mayor appears shocked, shocked to be told there was trouble in the communications office. Well, while I have no knowledge of the specific misdeeds Reese is accused of committing — bullying, sexual harassment and such — I do have experience with him, interacting firsthand.
Return with me to the golden days of yesteryear — well, July anyway. Old Joe Biden finally permitted his fingers be pried off the steering wheel. Democratic hopes soared. The Democratic National Convention was coming up. I was tasked with writing an in-depth piece on how the event might affect the reputation of Chicago. It hadn’t happened yet, and so we didn’t know. Would it be a 1968-level disaster? A 1996-ish triumph?
I had my own operating theory — that it didn’t matter. The city’s reputation, after being abused by every right-wing aggrievance junkie who could fog a mirror, couldn’t become worse. That said, the city also didn’t have anything to gain. The people most vigorously using the city as a dog whistle really weren’t into the whole, reevaluating-their-opinions-based-on-new-data thing.
But I am and didn’t want to merely regurgitate my opinions. So I began contacting various Chicago boosters, PR pros and North Michigan Avenue Association sorts.
I figured I’d better reach out to the city. I approached the mayor’s press office the way a person tosses a coin into a wishing well, a time-honored ritual without much expectation of actual return. With nothing to lose, I figured, do it with a little panache. I sent the following email:
Good morning! I’m writing a column on how the upcoming Democratic National Convention will affect the global reputation of the city. I’m assuming there is no one in your office who would offer comments for such a story, but want to ask anyway, just so I can, if I so desire, say I tried and got nothing. Thank you for considering my request, to the degree that you actually do.
The phone rang almost immediately. Ronnie Reese. I wish I had a transcript of the next 25 minutes or so, which I later described to my boss as “the most unprofessional conversation I’ve had with a public official in my entire life.” And I’ve talked to both Morgan Finley and Rod Blagojevich — both Chicago politicians who ended up in prison.
He snapped at the bait, going on and on about what an insult my email was. My reaction was, “Yeah, but you still aren’t putting me in touch with anyone, are you?”
The word he kept using was “respect.” Was I showing enough respect for Brandon Johnson to be allowed to speak with him? I told him, look, set a time, and I’ll show up at the fifth floor of City Hall and genuflect my way into his office and ask my questions sprawled facedown on the floor. He’ll have respect up the yazoo.
Eventually, to give Reese credit, he served up chief operating officer John Roberson, who told me what he was telling everybody: “We are going to demonstrate that the city of Chicago is uniquely positioned for this moment…” Etc.
Two things. First, there is no animus. I feel genuinely sorry for the mayor, as a man foundering and wish he would do better. Nobody is pulling more for him to somehow right his foundering vessel. It is still possible. I would humbly suggest that, before he speaks, he measure what he is about to say against three tests: 1) Am I about to blame someone else for something which is essentially my responsibility? 2) Am I about to invoke my family when discussing something that has nothing to do with them? and 3) Am I about to suggest that legitimate criticisms are racially motivated?
If the answer is “Yes” to any of those questions, he should not say it. That would be a start.
Second, the convention — a great success by all measures beyond nominating a winning candidate — didn’t help Chicago’s image much, did it?