Rick Bryant
Current Position: Chief of Staff, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.)
Why He Matters
Bryant first met his current boss, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., while working as a political reporter in Chicago. Normally Bryant reported on three or four campaigns at a time, so he didn’t get to know the candidates on a personal level. But in 1995, while covering a special election, he was able to focus all his energy on the two candidates, one of whom was Jackson. The election was called to fill the seat of Rep. Mel Reynolds, who was convicted of sexual assault and other charges and resigned in October 1995.
While covering the election, Bryant was struck by Jackson’s passion and commitment. The candidate’s platform, he realized, aligned with many of his own values and Bryant felt the young candidate had great potential.
When Jackson won the ’95 election, Bryant asked for a job on his team.
In Their Own Words
Path To Power
Like many players in the political arena, Bryant started off in the journalism field. He was a political reporter for 12 years at a string of daily newspapers, ending with the Daily Southtown in Chicago.
He found his way onto Jackson’s staff after the congressman was first elected to office. He worked as a district administrator who ran the district offices and acted as the liaison to local officials. In 2010 he took over as the congressman’s chief of staff.
The Issues
As chief of staff, Bryant assists with work on economic development, appropriations and government relations.
Airport
One of the biggest undertakings he has helped the congressman with is the developing and building of a third airport in the Chicago south suburbs.
“That was something that the newspaper (Daily Southtown) had editorially supported for years,” Bryant said, “and I was very much involved in the reporting of the early developments of the airport.”(1)
Supporting the airport, Bryant said, is probably what won Jackson the election. They’re still in the talking phase, but he believes they are very close to announcing a date for groundbreaking.
Ford Heights
Another campaign promise Bryant worked on was bringing fresh water to the Ford Heights community, a poor suburb located in their district.
“For years they had water that came out of the tap looking like ice tea,” Bryant said.(1)
Jackson promised to bring fresh Lake Michigan drinking water to the suburb, and was able to deliver on that promise through an obscure Department of Agriculture grant. Work on the project started in 1997 and was completed in 2001.
U.S. Steel South Works
In the early ’90s this major steel mill, which at one point employed more than 20,000 people, shut down, leaving a large open space on the South Side of Chicago. Jackson and his staff are working to redevelop the 578-acre lakefront site into a multi-use space that will encompass both retail and residential areas, among others.
This project is financed by a public/private partnership and workers are currently laying the infrastructure on the site.
The Network
Bryant works closely with Gov. Patrick Quinn and his staff, as well as many of the mayors in the state. They also make sure they are always in touch with the community so they can be sure they are fulfilling their needs, Bryant said.
At the office, Bryant and Jackson employ their own styles.
“The congressman is very hands on; myself I’m kind of laid back,” Bryant said. “We have a lot of staff that have been here for several years. And they work hard and know what they’re doing so I trust them–I trust them to do their job.” (1)
Footnotes