A new voice at City Hall

Mayor Brandon Johnson picked Rachel Cohen, 32, a Harvard-trained lawyer turned activist and influencer, to run his communications office.

Hired for a hard year

Cohen takes over telling Johnson's story just as he heads into what is expected to be a bruising fight for reelection.

From Ohio to law school

Cohen grew up in Ohio and taught English literature to non-English speakers in Rhode Island before deciding to go to law school.

The resignation that went viral

In March 2025 she publicly quit Skadden, Arps, accusing the firm of caving to the Trump administration during its campaign against corporate law firms.

The deal she walked away from

Skadden agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono work for Trump to avoid a run of executive orders. Cohen's own work there was corporate financing and private equity deals.

Arrested at Broadview

She was arrested for civil disobedience at the ICE processing office in Broadview during the height of Operation Midway Blitz.

Hit six times

By her own count, Cohen was struck with tear gas or pepper bullets about half a dozen times while protesting there.

She stopped paying taxes

Cohen refused to pay her federal income taxes as a protest, at a time when most of her income came from freelance work.

“I was thinking about my willingness to be hit with chemical weapons. And I couldn't square giving the federal government $10,000.”

The $10,000 is still owed

As a government employee she will now pay federal taxes, but she says she has no current plan to pay the $10,000 she owes from freelancing.

650,000 followers

Cohen has 290,000 followers on Instagram and 363,000 on TikTok, with progressive politics videos that routinely pull tens of thousands of likes.

Reach beyond Illinois

She is plugged into the national anti-establishment left and did outreach for Abdul El-Sayed, the winning Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan.

Why Johnson wanted her

Johnson has struggled to sell his wins through traditional media and has been leaning on paid influencers who push hand-picked messaging.

“The way people get their news and information is changing, and we have to meet Chicagoans where they are.”

She interviewed him for free

Cohen has interviewed Johnson several times in short social videos, but declined to take any payment from the administration for them.

Going after a megadonor

A recent Cohen explainer targeted businessman Michael Sacks, who gave roughly $1.4 million to a group that attacked Johnson's head tax plan and $500,000 to rival Alexi Giannoulias.

“Michael Sacks wants to buy all of your elections.”

The comments got ugly

The video drew threats like "He should be scared." Cohen says she did not see them, condemns calls for violence, and does not moderate comments on viral posts.

“I do not condone comments that are calling for violence against anyone… including business leaders in our community.”

Her pitch for Johnson

Cohen says Chicagoans misunderstand Johnson's record and calls him one of the most progressive mayors in the country. She has no traditional political communications experience.

“It's unfathomable to me because he is objectively one of the most progressive mayors in the country.”

A revolving door

Cohen starts Monday, replacing Erin Connelly, who earns $200,856 and took over after Ronnie Reese left amid harassment allegations. Two other former aides now work for Zohran Mamdani.