CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley will announce today the hiring of Dana Levenson, aChicago-based corporate banking professional, to fill the long-vacant post of the city'stop fiscal officer, officials said yesterday.
Levenson, 47, most recently worked as a managing director in the investment-gradecorporate debt group that is part of Banc One Capital Markets Inc. His job there endedin early July following the merger between Chicago-based Bank One Corp. and New YorkCity-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The latter firm's New York team took over corporatebanking activities.
Levenson joined Banc One in 2000 from Bank of America where he worked in London as amanaging director, according to Tom Kelly, spokesman for the merged Bank One and J.P.Morgan.
The post of Chicago chief financial officer was left vacant when Walter Knorr left twoyears ago to join Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as a public finance banker. In April,Knorr returned to the public sector as a Cook County comptroller.
Since Knorr's departure, the fiscal duties of the CEO have fallen on the citycomptroller and budget director. Comptroller Tariq Malhance manages the city's bondingand investor and rating agency relationships while John Harris manages the budgetingprocess.
By leaving the post open, the cash-strapped city saved $135,000 annually, and somemarket participants had thought the position would continue to remain vacant as Chicagograpples with a $220 million deficit that must be closed before the 2005 budget ispresented this fall.
Levenson takes over management of the city's finances at a crucial time in Chicago'sattempt to hold onto gains made over the last decade in its general obligation rating.
Moody's Investors Service last month revised its outlook on the city's A1 credit tonegative from stable citing its narrow cash balance, looming deficit, and use of long-term debt to cover operating costs. Fitch Ratings rates the city's GO debt AA-minus andStandard & Poor's rates it A-plus. Both assign a stable outlook.
