Chicago political consultant Brian Sleet died unexpectedly earlier this week and the news of his passing has rocked the city’s political circle. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Sleet was found dead of a brain hemorrhage inside his South Side apartment Wednesday evening. He was 41.
The longtime politician scored his biggest victory as a campaign manager in 2016 when he helped elect Kim Foxx as Cook County’s first African-American state’s attorney.
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“There are no words to describe the loss that I and so many throughout Chicagoland are feeling right now by the passing of Brian Sleet,” Foxx said in a statement. “He was instrumental in my ability to serve as State’s Attorney and I am eternally grateful. I would not be where I am without Brian’s guidance while I began my first run for public office.”
Sleet graduated from Whitney Young and studied at Dartmouth College and the University of Illinois. He served as a spokesman for the Obama Foundation and worked as a public affairs consultant at Kivvt. The company’s managing partner, Eric Sedler, described Sleet as an “immense talent.”
“Leaders and communities across Chicago sought his counsel and his expertise,” Sedler wrote in an email to CBS 2. “Brian’s wisdom and thoughtfulness allowed him to work with a wide cross-section of people. Those of us who were privileged to work with Brian will always cherish his genuine heart, big smile and deep laugh.”
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The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled Sleet’s cause of death as hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
Officials on Friday announced that Sleet’s wake will be held Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at A.A. Rayner & Sons Funeral Home at 318 E. 71st St., with a gathering afterward at Frances Cocktail Lounge, the report states.