Wilmette Resident Resigns From Chicago Roles Amid Probe: Report

WILMETTE, IL — A top adviser to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is resigning her volunteer post in the mayor's office and a paid position with a publicly financed nonprofit amid an inspector general investigation into her role, the Chicago Tribune reported. The mayor's office had argued the arrangement allowed the adviser to live in Wilmette and avoid the residency requirement that applies to most city employees.

Lisa Schneider-Fabes, Wilmette School District 39 board president, is stepping down Friday from her position with World Business Chicago, the 20-year-old public-private partnership that promotes Chicago to businesses and pushes for economic development, the Tribune reported. The same day, she will end her "planned detail" to the mayor's office.

Before that, she served as transition manager for the Lightfoot administration, the Chicago Sun-Times reported days after the April runoff election. According to Politico, the business and government consultant had previously worked with the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force, Chicago Public Schools and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she helped government and department clients follow housing and environmental regulations.

World Business Chicago is chaired by the mayor and receives about $1.7 million in annual public funding but is exempt from public records laws and the city's residency requirement. Schneider-Fabes began her position as vice president of strategic initiatives when Lightfoot was sworn in. The Tribune reported the nonprofit refuses to say how much it has been paying Schneider-Fabes in the role, which involved being immediately detailed to the mayor's office, according to the Tribune. The newspaper identified 11 volunteer employees in the mayor's office from the Civil Consulting Alliance, branch of the Commercial Club of Chicago chaired by Brian Fabes, the husband of Schneider-Fabes.

According to the Tribune, Schneider-Fabes attended senior staff meetings, human resources interviews and planning for major speeches in the mayor's office. A spokesperson for the inspector general's office told the paper the office had previously advised the mayor that those who manage city resources and employees and make decisions impacting city policy should be considered employees, whether paid or unpaid, and subject to city residency requirements.