The education of our children should be a top priority for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his newly handpicked school board members. But they are offering more tricks than treats.
When is enough, enough? Johnson’s last appointed Chicago Board of Education resigned en masse following the mayor’s insistence that board members fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez for failing to secure a $300 million high-interest loan. CPS’ budget deficit for 2026 is projected to be $951 million. The city of Chicago faces a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. Chicago taxpayers are on the hook for both budgets, and that means higher property taxes, according to Johnson’s recently announced spending plan.
The school board establishes direction, priorities and goals for CPS. It approves the district’s $9.9 billion budget, capital improvement plans, purchasing conditions, contracts and dismissal of principals, teachers and staff.
The CPS budget is a treat for the mayor. His board controls the decision-making around all aspects of the budget. In February, it ended the custodial management contract with Aramark and handed it to CPS facilities and members of Service Employees International Union Local 73 — the same union that gave $4.4 million to Johnson’s mayoral campaign.
Board members did not have to go through City Council approval or vetting to ensure they had the proper qualifications. Since 1995, Chicago’s mayor has had sole authority to appoint board members. The financial entanglements between the city and CPS necessitate that the council have an oversight role to protect taxpayers.
Thanks to Springfield legislators, the council has been rendered a toothless tiger that lacks power even to compel CPS board members to appear before it. Effectively, the mayor controls all contracts and jobs associated with the nation’s fourth largest school system. He can appoint whomever he desires without input from voters or aldermen. The deepening financial crisis at CPS warrants a change in state statute to allow the City Council a vote on board members.
If aldermen would have been able to question Johnson’s newly appointed members, they would have discovered that the Rev. Mitchell Johnson, the new board president, was permanently disbarred from the practice of law in Ohio in 1990, NBC affiliate WMAQ-Ch. 5 reported. Aldermen would have probed the circumstances around the disbarment. School board members are role models and they should have unquestionable integrity.
The designated vice president, Mary Gardner, a West Side community organizer, “challenged the signatures on ballot petitions submitted by three candidates running in the school board’s District 5 election; all three were ultimately removed from the ballot,” according to Chalkbeat Chicago. Interestingly, the school board candidate backed by the Chicago Teachers Union in District 5 is Aaron “Jitu” Brown, and he is running unopposed after Michilla “Kyla” Blaise abruptly withdrew her candidacy and was picked by Johnson as one of his new board members.
I am sure aldermen would want to know if Gardner could be fair and impartial given her familial connection to SEIU Local 73. The council would have questioned Blaise’s sudden withdrawal from the District 5 board race and what possible promises were made.
Another board member, Rafael Yañez, ran for alderman in the 15th Ward in 2019. His top donors in the election were the CTU, the SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana political action committee and SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund, according to the Reform for Illinois Sunshine database.
Board member Debby Pope, a former teacher, “described herself as a part-time CTU employee on her account on X. … A CTU spokesman later said she retired from the union in June, and her X profile has since been updated and made private,” according to Chalkbeat Chicago.
On Nov. 5, voters will choose 10 members from 10 districts. The mayor will then appoint 11 other board members including the president of the board. He could keep some of the current board members. This mayor-elected model allows Johnson to exert control over the board while giving the illusion of a fair democratic process — another trick. The hybrid board doesn’t make the board accountable to the public. A fully elected school board does.
The following are suggestions to take politics out of the education of children:
- Gov. JB Pritzker and the legislature should enact legislation that gives the Chicago City Council oversight and approval of mayoral appointments to the Chicago Board of Education.
- The inspector general for the Chicago Board of Education should launch an investigation into board members’ labor union connections. The IG should also monitor potential conflicts of interest.
- Chicago residents should vote for independence in school board elections.
- Pritzker and the legislature should give parents school choice.
In this season of Halloween, there are a lot of tricks being played. Traditional Democrats are being labeled as Donald Trump Republicans by the CTU. Our children and parents deserve an independent school board that puts children and their learning over politics.
Each board member signs an important oath of office — some of the key provisions include:
- I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district’s assets.
- I shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety which could result from my position and will not use my board membership for personal gain or publicity.
Johnson’s school board represents more treats for the CTU and a lot of tricks for our children, Martinez and the taxpayers. Happy Halloween!
I write this commentary to make those comfortable with prioritizing labor unions over children and citizens uncomfortable.
Willie Wilson is a business owner, philanthropist and former mayoral candidate.
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