Copyright Chicago Tribune
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s arts and culture leader resigned amid an investigation into allegations that she harassed staff, records obtained by the Tribune show. The early October exit of Clinée Hedspeth, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, came days after Johnson’s chief of staff received a human resources investigation determining Hedspeth violated ethnic, age-based and sexual harassment rules. Hedspeth denied she acted inappropriately, the Department of Human Resources investigation report shows. The sudden resignation of Hedspeth, a close friend of Johnson’s before her appointment who worked as his legislative director when he was a county commissioner, marks the latest instance of a longtime Johnson associate leaving his administration amid controversy. Though Hedspeth resigned, Johnson spokesperson Cassio Mendoza said the mayor followed the discipline recommendations given by the Department of Human Resources and planned to fire her. The recommendation was not visible in the heavily-redacted report. “The former commissioner resigned before she could be terminated,” Mendoza wrote in a statement Tuesday morning. Hedspeth has been placed on the city’s “ineligible for rehire” list, he added. Hedspeth, who became commissioner in March 2024 after Johnson fired Mayor Lori Lightfoot-appointee Erin Harkey, oversaw high turnover in her department, including the exits of seven top deputies. Records obtained by the Tribune in February showed a number of staffers accused her of bullying, while a letter signed by over 100 arts and culture industry workers in April expressed “deep concern” over her leadership. She also faced criticism earlier this year from several members of the Cultural Advisory Council, a board tasked with advising her department at the time that featured many Lightfoot appointees. Asked over the course of the year about the turnover, letter and complaints, Johnson repeatedly did not directly answer. He reaffirmed his commitment to the arts while declining to discuss Hedspeth’s leadership as she remained in the position. “I don’t discuss personnel issues. I believe everybody knows that,” he said during an August press conference when asked about criticism Hedspeth faced. The August remark was the latest use of the common refrain for the mayor, who deployed the same non-answer when asked about the October 2024 firing of his former communications director Ronnie Reese. Reese, another longtime close friend of Johnson’s, was accused of bullying, racism, misogyny and sexual harassment before the mayor fired him last year. Reese denied all the accusations he faced and said he never mistreated staffers. Staffers who made a complaint against Reese also complained that they were frustrated with the response by Johnson’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas. Pacione-Zayas attempted to include Reese in meetings about the complaints and suggested “peace circles” be used to resolve the issues, but Reese’s employees opposed the idea because they feared retaliation, according to the complaint. Hedspeth, who previously worked as an art appraiser and museum curator, argued in a May Tribune interview that she walked into a “hostile situation” after Johnson fired Harkey and touted her efforts to increase funding for direct grants to artists. In a statement shared with the Tribune Tuesday, Hedspeth’s attorney, John Sciaccotta, said the allegations in the most recent report “were raised under circumstances that warrant a more intense and thoughtful review.” Sciaccotta criticized the city for not allowing Hedspeth to review the statements investigators said she made, calling such review “a right protected by law and standard procedure” for the city. “As a result, Ms. Hedspeth’s statement in the report contains inaccuracies and omissions,” Sciaccotta wrote. “Ms. Hedspeth remains confident that the full and accurate facts will ultimately come to light through the appropriate legal process.” Hedspeth pinned the complaints on “a disgruntled City employee,” the report shows. The 17-page report, first reported Monday evening by NBC 5 Chicago, included several allegations against Hedspeth that investigators ultimately determined violated the city’s anti-discrimination policies. In one allegation, an employee said Hedspeth directed her to “put on a thick accent” and “wear traditional cultural clothes” during a City Council hearing. Several witnesses told investigators they heard the comment. Some, including Hedspeth, described it as a joke. Hedspeth also said she had been friends with the employee before they worked together at the department, according to the report. Hedspeth was also accused of telling a colleague that an employee she wanted to fire, apparently a person of color, “should go back to [a redacted location].” Hedspeth told investigators she did not recall making the comment, according to the report. In an age-related allegation, the commissioner was accused of urging an employee to dye her gray hair to look younger. Hedspeth told investigators that if she had made the comment, “it would have to be in a joking manner.” An employee also accused Hedspeth of asking questions about their partner’s sexuality and disregarding a staffer’s pronouns. And in another heavily-redacted allegation, an employee said Hedspeth asked if the employee would have an affair with a married man who gave the employee an allowance and asked about the employee’s sex life. Hedspeth told investigators the conversations about personal life took place before the complainant became a city employee. The report said Hedspeth declined to answer further questions after sitting for two 2.5-hour interviews. Investigators planned to ask her more questions about “disability discrimination, disability harassment and retaliation allegations” and determined the former commissioner failed to cooperate, the report said. The report said Hedsepth and her attorney complained that she was not given due process because she was not given written descriptions of the allegations she faced, other witnesses were not interviewed and her counsel was not able to interview complainants. Complying with Hedspeth’s request to interview complainants would “create a chilling effect” and “open employees up to retaliation,” the Department of Human Resources wrote.
