Program Specialist

DePaul Animation Program soars to national recognition. Leading the midwest, DePaul prepares students for real-world animation careers. Kenneth Adusah | Apr 15, 2026 Animation Career Review has ranked DePaul's animation program as the 12th best in the nation, jumping up one spot from last year. "It's an honor to have our program recognized among these long-established, top-tier schools," Scott Roberts, chair of DePaul's Animation Program, said. "This achievement is a testament to the hard work and success of our alumni, students and faculty." The university is also expanding access to animation education for young people across Chicago. For nearly two decades DePaul's Game, Cinema, and Animation Summer Academy has offered different classes such as and 3D animation for high school students from around the country. Students are taught by full-time faculty, including Animator in Residence and Disney veteran Brian Ferguson. This year the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and DePaul's Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media have partnered to add an animation track to a CHA summer program. Participants ages 15 to 24 will study filmmaking, screenwriting, photography, and animation, learn from faculty, receive mentorship from graduate students, meet industry professionals, and explore Chicago's arts scene through field trips. Applications for student mentors will open soon. DePaul continues to innovate through its academic degrees. The Computer Science + Animation Bachelor of Science degree prepares students for technical and artistic careers in animation and game development, combining computer science fundamentals with 3D animation training. Students collaborate on team-based projects in storyboarding, character design, game art and programming. DePaul is also recognized as an Unreal Academic Partner, which recognizes exemplary universities that integrate Epic Games' Unreal Engine into their classes and labs, underscoring its commitment to cutting-edge tools and interdisciplinary learning. Key Themes Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media

Top Johnson aide says there will be 'consequences' for CHA power struggle over new CEO. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief of staff, says the CHA board will have to answer for hiring a new CEO after what the administration claims was an illegal process that violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Apr 3, 2026, 11:51am PDT A top mayoral aide said Friday there will be "consequences" for the Chicago Housing Authority's decision to hire a new CEO whom Mayor Brandon Johnson has never met, after what the administration claims was a secret process that violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, refused to say what those consequences would be for a CHA board that bypassed Johnson's recommendation of former Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) in favor of Keith Pettigrew, who currently serves as executive director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority. But she hinted that Johnson was prepared to wage a legal battle with the CHA board that defied him and, as she put it, "knowingly" violated its "oath to uphold the law of the land locally, state as well as federal." "If this board operated in a way that violated one of the key pieces of any public body - and that is the Open Meetings Act to ensure the transparency of all the steps that these officials are required to take when you are fiduciary of public resources - then there will be some consequences around that," she said. "I can't say what they are, but I can tell you that we don't have these laws just to say them. They actually do have teeth and they do have expectations... There will be some activity in the coming weeks that you will see and we'll have to see how this plays out. The mayor stands firm [in his belief that] the process did not follow what is statutorily required and [CHA Board Chair Matthew Brewer] is going to have to answer to that as the chair." Pacione-Zayas compared what she called the CHA's secret process to the transparent process at Chicago Public Schools that culminated in the partially elected, partially appointed school board's decision to give Interim CEO Macquline King the permanent job with a three-year contract at a starting salary of $380,000. "It was posted well in advance that a contract would be executed with a named candidate for a special meeting. These are pretty basic guidelines and standards," Pacione-Zayas said. Earlier this week, Johnson took his power struggle for control over the CHA to a new level. The mayor acted to remove Brewer as board chair and interim operating chairman in apparent retaliation for Brewer's role in engineering Pettigrew's appointment. The CHA board's 7-2 vote was a political defeat for Johnson, who favored Burnett and has spent months seeking the federal waivers needed to resolve Burnett's apparent conflicts of interest. Brewer argues that Johnson's issues with the CHA board's vote have "nothing to do with violating the law." "They have to do with the mayor not getting the person he wanted as CEO," he said. Brewer said he is "very confident" that the CHA board he chairs "complied with all applicable laws," including the Open Meetings Act that allows personnel matters to be listed as such and debated behind closed doors. "I am a lawyer who hates lawsuits. So I'm never going to say, 'Bring it on.' I'm not picking a fight. I'm not inviting a fight. But if we have to fight, we will fight," Brewer said. The embattled CHA chair maintained that the mayor's office interviewed Pettigrew about a year ago. It was only then at the end of a search process that dragged on for more than a year that Johnson, as Brewer put it, said, "'I want my guy to come in' and disregarded this entire process." "It's ironic that they're saying that I violated process and I made some unilateral decision," Brewer said. Pacione-Zayas questioned how Pettigrew can preside over a $1.4 billion agency that serves 65,000 households and includes some of Chicago's poorest residents. "I'm personally confused. I don't know how, if you're a candidate and you have not met the principal that appoints the board - I don't know how you can really move forward. It's really striking," Pacione-Zayas said Friday. "If I were the candidate, I would be asking the board, 'How come I haven't met the principal and I'd like to set that up.'... It's concerning." Burnett's apparent conflicts of interest, according to the CHA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, were with his 30-year record as alderman and longtime ownership of properties rented to housing voucher holders. Since 2007, Burnett and his wife have collected more than $260,000 as CHA voucher landlords. The board has been unable to consider Burnett, whom many CHA residents opposed, until the agency receives HUD-approved conflict waivers. Chicago Sun-TimesCity Hall reporter Keep Watching Illinois' Final Four marching orders: Have fun, spill guts, no regrets Illinois' Final Four marching orders: Have fun, spill guts, no regrets

Chicago Housing Authority appoints Keith Pettigrew as new CEO. The board vote comes after 18 months without a permanent CEO at the housing authority. Mar 17, 2026, 8:50am PDT The Chicago Housing Authority appointed a new CEO: Keith Pettigrew, the executive director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority. The vote comes after 18 months without a permanent CEO at the housing authority and marks a win for the CHA board over Mayor Brandon Johnson. The CHA voted seven to two with one abstention at its Tuesday board meeting. The Sun-Times previously reported that Pettigrew said he withdrew his application for the CHA job in May 2025. This is a developing story. Chicago Sun-TimesContributor As part of a weekly audio segment, we want to help you tackle your personal finance questions. Keep Watching Fire department 'heartbroken' after firefighter battling Rogers Park blaze dies Fire department 'heartbroken' after firefighter battling Rogers Park blaze dies Next Up In News