At least three dozen councilors, including numerous allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson, posted an open letter Saturday denouncing the mayor's handover of Chicago Public Schools, prompting the entire Chicago Board of Education to announce they will soon resign .
The group of councilors — including 10 members of Johnson's leadership team on the council — rebuked the mayor's efforts to gain more control over CPS, including the effort to get CPS to take out a $300 million high-interest loan and a loan of $175. million pension payment for CPS employees who are not teachers. In the letter, councilors said the idea of the district taking out the $300 million in loans was “not a smart decision,” and also praised CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who has opposed Johnson's efforts.
The mayor has moved to have the seven-member Martinez board fired, and when Johnson announced Friday that the entire board planned to resign, it was seen as a clear attempt by the mayor to clear the way for a newly appointed board to fire Martinez. Johnson said he plans to appoint administrative replacements at a South Side church on Monday.
“There is great cause for concern now that those voices have faded away,” the councilor's letter said.
Although the wording in the letter addressed to Johnson was harsh, councilors have no say in CPS matters and public letters are often easy ways for councilors to discuss matters to look good to their constituents.
A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Among the councilors who signed the letter were Johnson appointees to powerful council committee chairs and ten of the council's nineteen members of the council's progressive caucus, which is Johnson's most consistent base of support in the body.
The group in the letter demanded that Johnson hold a hearing before the end of the month and before any new appointments to the CPS board are made.
“Chicagoans deserve a voice when it comes to decisions that impact our school system and the city as a whole. A school board full of lame appointees who serve only a few months of a term before residents have a chance to elect representatives is not what is in our best interests,” the letter said.
The letter mentioned the upcoming school board elections in November, which will mark the beginning of Chicago's transition to a fully elected school board that will no longer be entirely under the mayor's control. Yet a majority of members will still be appointed by Johnson next year and the board will not be fully elected until 2027.
“With the next school board meeting scheduled for the end of October, just days away from the general election, it would be a disservice to appoint anyone without thorough vetting – this is not what we have been fighting for in our efforts for a fully elected school board,” the letter said.
With the entire Board of Education resigning, what's next for CPS families?
Councilors drafted, edited and collected signatures on the letter in less than 24 hours after announcing the resignation over “Friday's massacre,” according to Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, said.
Villegas said he worked with Alds. Nicole Lee, 11th, Silvana Tabares, 23rd, and Maria Hadden, 49th, to lead the effort to create and build support for the letter.
“It's our responsibility to say something,” Villegas said. “This is simply unprecedented.”
Central to Johnson's push to oust Martinez is his demand that the district's leader have CPS take over the $300 million in loans to cover the $175 million retirement benefit for CPS employees who are not teachers. That obligation was previously the city's job until Mayor Lori Lightfoot shifted the burden to CPS, a move Johnson initially opposed but is now trying to preserve as he faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit in 2025.
Martinez rejected the mayor's request and worked with the school district board this summer to adopt a budget that did not include the loans and payments. In their letter Saturday, councilors said Martinez and the board “understood the reality of the situation” when they made the decision.
“With federal Covid relief funds for CPS recently expiring, it is critical that CPS leaders keep the interests of taxpayers and our children top of mind when making budget decisions that will impact the district for decades to come,” said the letter.
Councilors also censured Johnson for failing to raise more money for the Springfield school district. Lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly said the city's lobbying efforts “focused too much on $2 billion for a new Bears stadium, and not enough on additional funds for CPS and other Illinois school districts.”
“We must find new ways to work with each other, CPS leadership, and our colleagues in Springfield to achieve our shared vision of fully funded schools for all Illinois students,” the letter said.
