Ishan Daya, appointed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, resigns just hours after controversy arises over his new city position

Inside Chicago City Hall, there was chaos on Friday when an appointee by Mayor Brandon Johnson to a significant working group stepped down just hours after being named to the role.

Some Jewish groups in Chicago took issue with past actions from the appointee, Ishan Daya.

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Daya, who had run for office in 2023 but exited the race due to a controversial video of him taking down a poster of an Israeli hostage by Hamas, sparked outrage among the city’s officials. Particularly concerned was Debra Silverstein, the North Side’s 50th Ward’s sole Jewish alderperson.

“The mayor has assured me of his intentions to reconcile with the Jewish community, yet it seems there’s a continuous pattern of errors. I’m honestly shocked,” expressed Silverstein.

Alderwoman Silverstein reacted to Mayor Johnson’s appointment of Ishan Daya, co-director of the Institute for the Public Good, to the Chicago Fiscal Sustainability Working Group.

Day, who previously ran for 32nd Ward Democratic committeeperson, said he left the mayor’s group “in the interest of the work to support a budget… that advances the needs of working class folks in this city.”

“We’re pleased that this individual will not have a position of authority, but we’re deeply concerned that he was appointed in the first place,” said David Goldenberg, Anti-Defamation League Midwest Regional Director.

In 2023, Daya left that committeeperson race after video showed him removing a poster of an Israeli hostage.

Daya told ABC7, “I took issue with language on the poster that I felt… was racist and dehumanizing toward Palestinians… I see that the act was hurtful to families longing…for their loved ones’ return and for that I apologize.”

The mayor’s appointment of Daya came after a meeting last month with Silverstein to try to mend fences with the Jewish community.

“We do not feel like the mayor and the city of Chicago have our back, and as much as we try to get that message across, I feel like it’s really going nowhere,” Silverstein said.

Messages left by ABC7 for the mayor’s office requesting comment were not returned.