Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced Dec. 21 that Celia Meza will serve as acting corporation counsel, effective immediately.
Meza is the first Latina to ever hold this position.
In her current role as mayor's counsel and senior ethics advisor, Meza serves as Lightfoot's direct legal advisor, providing advice and counsel to the mayor on city operations and policy matters. In addition, she advises the mayor's office senior staff on ethics, compliance and administrative operations.
NBC Chicago noted that the announcement comes after the city's top lawyer, Mark Flessner, resigned his post as corporation counsel over the weekend after criticism as the city tried to keep footage of a botched 2019 Chicago Police Department raid from airing on television.
The raid came to light in recent days after a video was published, which showed a handcuffed Anjanette Young standing naked in her home for several minutes. Young is heard in the video telling officers that they are in the wrong home, and she and her attorney later confirmed that her home was not the target of the search warrant.