Latest news with #ObamaFoundation
CBS News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
John Roberson, Mayor Brandon Johnson's COO, is leaving City Hall
Another high-ranking member of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration is exiting City Hall. City Chief Operating Officer John Roberson is leaving the Mayor's office to take a job with the Obama Foundation. "I want to thank John Roberson for his dedication and service to our city over these past two years," Mayor Johnson said in a news release. "I wish him the best of luck as he continues to serve our city in his new role at the Obama Foundation." Roberson has been in the mayor's inner circle since the start of his term. "I want to thank Mayor Johnson for the opportunity to serve. It has been an honor to work every day for a Mayor who is committed to transforming our city," Roberson said in the release. "As I look forward to my next chapter, I want to express my gratitude to all the City workers and leaders who worked with us over these past two years to make our city a better place." Roberson's departure leaves Mayor Johnson with yet another hole to fill. In addition to filling Roberson's vacant position, Johnson needs to pick new leaders for the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Chicago Housing Authority.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Official leaving Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration for Obama Foundation
CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief operating officer is leaving the administration to join the Obama Foundation, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA. The Obama Foundation told the Tribune John Roberson will join its leadership team as executive vice president starting July 7. And Johnson spokesperson Cassio Mendoza confirmed Roberson's last day in the mayor's office will be June 20. 'I want to thank John Roberson for his dedication and service to our city over these past two years,' Johnson said in a statement. 'I wish him the best of luck as he continues to serve our city in his new role at the Obama Foundation.' Roberson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson's inner circle with previous City Hall experience. His resignation was announced in a senior staff call Monday morning, sources said. 'John has the right background, experience and reputation to lead the operations of the Obama Presidential Center as we prepare to welcome the people of Chicago and the world to our campus next year,' Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation, wrote in a statement. 'John is well known for his rigor and commitment to excellence and his values-based leadership approach which aligns strongly with President Obama's vision.' For the last several weeks, Roberson had been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA. The agency has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Transit activists sought a thorough search process for the agency's new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system. Johnson's team has said they did do a national search and he has not made a decision. Earlier this spring, Roberson was also rumored to be Johnson's next Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner. In the end, he was tapped for neither the Aviation nor the CTA role, and his exit from city government leaves the Johnson administration without any old-school City Hall bureaucrats among his top advisers. It also leaves a giant question mark on how the course of a looming budget crisis within for the CTA will play out. The Illinois General Assembly adjourned this month without a solution to the estimated $771 million budget gap for Chicago-area transit agencies after negotiations fell apart at the eleventh hour. Some Johnson critics said the trepidation over CTA's leadership under Johnson, who defended Carter throughout his controversial reign, impeded the transit agency's case before lawmakers that it can be trusted with more revenue to stave off the fiscal cliff. The mayor retorted last week that was a 'poor analysis' but did not say whether he will name the next CTA president before Springfield reconvenes to hammer out its transit package. 'I have not made a decision on who our appointment is going to be,' Johnson told reporters last week. Roberson's transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision. Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly. The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention's arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage. A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to members of the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition. Those familiar with both Roberson and other top Johnson aides' thinking said the City Hall veteran at times clashed with mayoral staffers from more progressive grassroots backgrounds. Guidice, also the former head of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, left as Johnson's chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023. Asked about Roberson's apparent tensions with progressives in the Johnson administration, Guidice said he never saw direct clashes but defended his former colleague and friend of more than two decades. 'They're losing someone with institutional knowledge in the administration, who knows the day-to-day operations of the city,' Guidice said. 'He was pretty aligned with my way of thinking, I would say, and my understanding of city government.' In the Obama Foundation release, Roberson said he's looking forward to his new role. 'As a son of the South Side, I couldn't be more proud to build on the tremendous accomplishments of the OPC team and deliver this game-changing institution to our community and for our great city,' he said. _____ (The Tribune's Gregory Royal Pratt contributed reporting.) _____
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Official leaving Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration for Obama Foundation
Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief operating officer, John Roberson, is leaving the administration, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA. Roberson is exiting the mayor's office to join the Obama Foundation, according to two sources with knowledge of his plans. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson's inner circle with previous City Hall experience. A source close to the mayor said Roberson is also no longer being considered to lead to the CTA. Roberson, as well as a spokesperson for the Obama Foundation, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. Roberson's transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision. Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly. The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention's arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage. For the last several weeks, Roberson has been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared that the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA, which has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Those activists sought a thorough search process for the agency's new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system. A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition. Guidice left as Johnson's chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023.
Chicago Tribune
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Official leaving Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration for Obama Foundation
Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief operating officer, John Roberson, is leaving the administration, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA. Roberson is exiting the mayor's office to join the Obama Foundation, according to two sources with knowledge of his plans. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson's inner circle with previous City Hall experience. A source close to the mayor said Roberson is also no longer being considered to lead to the CTA. Roberson, as well as a spokesperson for the Obama Foundation, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. Roberson's transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision. Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly. The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention's arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage. For the last several weeks, Roberson has been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared that the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA, which has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Those activists sought a thorough search process for the agency's new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system. A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition. Guidice left as Johnson's chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Barack Obama says work-life balance isn't real for successful people
Former President Barack Obama admits that if you want to find career success, you shouldn't expect to always have work–life balance; it's okay to 'throw yourself into work,' as long as you make up for it later, he says. After a hard-core campaign season, he set a strict rule as president to have dinner every night with Michelle and his two daughters, Sasha and Malia. If finding success in your career is on your bucket list, you might need to get used to working lunches and staying past 5 p.m. That's, at least, according to former President Barack Obama, who recently revealed that achieving proper work–life balance will not always be possible. 'If you want to be excellent at anything—sports, music, business, politics—there's going to be times of your life when you're out of balance, where you're just working and you're single-minded,' he admitted on The Pivot Podcast. It's a lesson he—and his family learned the hard way. The 63-year-old admitted that when he first ran for president, he was on the constant grind for over a year and a half. While he said he would take some breaks during the weekends, his wife Michelle was largely left picking up the slack at home, taking care of the kids, even while she had a full-time job of her own. Though the time away from his family led to two terms in the White House, Obama admitted it wasn't sustainable. As president, he set a rule where he had family dinner every night at 6:30pm—even if he had to go back to work later. And while some leaders might think it takes away valuable work time, he said the opportunity to decompress with family was actually incredibly impactful. 'They ground you and give you perspective, and over time, that makes you better,' he said. Even as a former president, Obama admitted that his political accomplishments—what kept him away from his family—won't be what he remembers at the end of life. Instead, it'll be the love and memories he had with his children. 'I don't think there's a perfect formula,' he said at an Obama Foundation event in 2019. 'I think it starts with recognizing that on my deathbed, I am confident that I will not remember any bill I passed, I will not remember any speech I gave, any big crowds.' That's not to say career aspirations are not important, he said, it just means the level of commitment someone can give to their work all depends on what life is like at home—and vice versa. 'There will be phases in your life where you have to prioritize different things,' Obama said. 'There are times where it will be okay for you to just throw yourself into work because everything's in a pretty good place. There are going to be times where you have to maybe make some sacrifices on the work side because things aren't all okay at home.' For couples, the same premise applies—sometimes sacrifice will be made to aid the other to focus on their dream, but the favor has to be returned. 'In both cases, (Michelle and I) try to say, you can have it all—but you can't have it all at once,' he told The Pivot Podcast. 'You have to recognize there may be times in your life that you are going to be busy, and the other person has to put up the slack, but you have to be willing to do that for the other person as well and try to create some equity inside the family.' Fortune has reached Obama for comment. The debate over work-life balance isn't just top of mind for political leaders—but business leaders, too. LinkedIn's cofounder, Reid Hoffman, has previously said that work–life balance is not much of an option for entrepreneurs who want to break through the competition. 'If I ever hear a founder talking about, 'this is how I have a balanced life'—they're not committed to winning,' Hoffman told Stanford University's 'How to Start a Startup' class in 2014. 'The only really great founders are [the one's who are] like, 'I am going to put literally everything into doing this.'' But like Obama, Hoffman had one exception to the grind: dinner with families. 'When we started LinkedIn, we started with people who had families. So we said, sure, go home have dinner with your family,' Hoffman said late last year on the Diary of a CEO podcast. 'Then, after dinner with your family, open up your laptop and get back in the shared work experience and keep working.' For other leaders, having structured work–life balance is non negotiable. In fact, Laxman Narasimhan, the former CEO of Starbucks, previously told Fortune that he's 'very disciplined about balance.' 'It's got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family.' This story was originally featured on
