Chicago Mayor’s Press Director Accused of Misogyny, Sexual Harassment, Anti-Semitism

It’s amazing how often communications people turn out to be idiots who have no idea how to talk to other people. In this case, Ronnie Reese was Mayor Brandon Johnson’s communications director until he was fired last month. The mayor’s office isn’t talking but documents obtained yesterday reveal a series of allegations against Reese, who seemed to think he was untouchable because of his long personal relationship with the mayor.

Reese indicated to staffers that “he was ‘untouchable’ and couldn’t be fired,” one of the complaints stated. The records show that Reese kept his job for months even after a city human resources investigator notified the mayor’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, of the formal complaints about Reese’s alleged behavior.

It turns out he wasn’t untouchable but he certainly was given a lot of leeway for a very long time. Here’s what one of Reese’s former employees wrote in a complaint about him.

“I’d like to begin by stating that I was extremely reluctant to bring forward this complaint due to the hostile and retaliatory environment created by … Reese,” the female staffer wrote in one complaint, which referenced a one-on-one meeting in which she shared her concerns with Pacione-Zayas. “I have personally experienced mistreatment by Reese in the form of sexual harassment, misogyny, exclusion, and unfair treatment. The increasing hostility in this environment has left me in constant fear for my job and well-being.”

Another woman accused him of being inappropriate toward her at a work party.

The most wide-ranging complaint came from a staffer who accused Reese of making unwanted, inappropriate physical contact at an after-work party. Reese wrapped his arm around the woman and pressed his thigh and knee against hers, the complainant wrote.

“I was severely uncomfortable and tried to make eye contact with those in the group so that they would see the look of horror on my face and help,” she wrote…

In another allegation, the same female staffer detailed Reese’s treatment of women as “especially harsh and incredibly misogynistic.” Reese regularly disparaged female staffers in meetings and in messages, she wrote, and she began circumventing his disapproval by having male colleagues present the ideas to receive Reese’s signoff, which she said “highlights Reese’s deeply misogynistic behavior.”

At one point, Reese allegedly walked into a female staffer’s office, shut the door, sat down and said, “Jews…” The complaint says there was no context for this. He was just expecting others to understand his general exasperation. He allegedly said something similar to another employee: “So the Jews?”

All of this information comes from three recent complaints, but problems with Reese cropped up much earlier. In 2023, three staffers in the office who had previously worked for Mayor Lori Lightfoot filed a complaint about Reese and another one of Mayor Johnson’s advisers. Reese responded by firing them and placing them on a “Do Not Hire” list which would keep them from getting any job with the city.

Prior to his current job with the mayor’s administration, Reese spent a decade as a press secretary for the Chicago Teacher’s Union.

Finally, it seems that the mayor’s chief of staff didn’t do much when she learned of the complaints.

The women also reported their concerns to the mayor’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, but expressed frustration over her alleged lack of response…

One of the complainants said they met with Pacione-Zayas, who suggested approaches such as “peace circles” and “restorative justice” to address the issue.

Mayor Johnson’s approval rating was already at 14% before these latest revelations about his good friend and spokesman. How much lower can he go?

New poll, 14% Favorable Rating for ⁦@ChicagosMayor⁩
Change Research
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— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) October 29, 2024