Pacione-Zayas Expected to Resign for City Hall Gig
Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) is expected to resign next month for a job in the administration of new Mayor Brandon Johnson.
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Progressive Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) is expected to resign from the Senate next month after being named First Deputy Mayor by incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson Thursday.
Pacione-Zayas, who was appointed to the Senate in 2020 when Iris Martinez was elected Cook County Circuit Clerk, was one of Johnson’s strongest supporters in Springfield.
Prior to her appointment to the Senate, she served on the State Board of Education and worked with the child development graduate school the Erikson Institute. She is generally regarded as one of the smartest young legislators in the Senate.
(Side note: she’s also a really good sport.)
It isn’t clear yet if Pacione-Zayas will resign by the time Johnson is sworn in May 15 or if she’ll serve out the final week before the General Assembly adjourns. Reached by text Friday morning, Pacione-Zayas would only say “more details to come soon.”
Successors aren’t immediately clear, though Rep. Jaime Andrade (D-Chicago) as mentioned by one Democrat as someone who could easily represent the heavily Latino northwest side district. Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), another progressive), represents the other half of the district.