Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige resigns effective immediately…
— Chicago Flips Red (@FlipChicagoRed) May 23, 2026
Mayor Brandon Johnson decided to let her go after tens of millions in COVID grants were voluntarily returned before expiration..
She requested that the city move the end date for… pic.twitter.com/7TYcXK51f3
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige resigns effective immediately…
Mayor Brandon Johnson decided to let her go after tens of millions in COVID grants were voluntarily returned before expiration..
She requested that the city move the end date for the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) program from July 31, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2025.
However, two of CDPH’s largest ELC grants still had a combined $94 million remaining at the time, according to an internal August spending report released through a public records request. The federal government’s grant tracker also shows that approximately $81.4 million in ELC funds for the city remains unspent as of this month.
Those same grants reportedly funded Healthy Chicago Equity Zones.
Jessica Biggs, one of the regional directors tied to the program, said the initiative:
“abruptly ended without any plan for anything.”
She also said people in the philanthropy and funding community were “baffled” the city let the program disappear.
What’s baffling how No one from this current administration or city council discuss the 1.8 billion dollars from epidemiology that went missing from 2020-2024
Now the public health commissioner is gone too.
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