The latest from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is something even for him.
He couldn’t convince his self-appointed Chicago Board of Education members to fire the Chicago Public Schools CEO after he wouldn’t endorse a $300-million loan for a pension payment and part of upcoming contract obligations in the middle of Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations. Then these members announced their simultaneous resignations just months before Johnson loses some CPS control in the transition to an elected education board.
Local and state politicians have expressed their alarm over this mass resignation. This outcome can only exacerbate the leadership challenges cited by the CPS CEO Pedro Martinez as why he rejected J’s resignation request.
Chicago is already confronting an almost $1 billion deficit, which is likely why Johnson delayed his budget address by two weeks. Many fear that this CPS turmoil, and the CTU negotiations, will only make this bad situation worse.
Johnson seems committed if his recent press conference is any indicator to doing just that.
He claimed that anyone who objects to his efforts is obstructing the will of Chicago voters who want change. He insulted a reporter as “disrespectful” after asking asked his new board members whether they would do what their predecessors had refused to do. He maintains that he didn’t ask for Martinez’s resignation and that he as the Chicago mayor needn’t answer some questions.
Johnson linked this conflict as he often does to a larger fight about race in the United States. If so, this former teacher has failed to offer a convincing case for such connections and conclusions to many, including some Chicago City Council progressive allies.
Some voters questioned in the last mayoral election whether Johnson would sufficiently separate himself from the CTU for which he previously worked. Perhaps our questions have been clearly answered.
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