Mayor Taps Former Chief of Staff, CTA Head Forrest Claypool to Lead CPS

By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jul 16, 2015 6:02PM

In a move reflecting the upheaval felt within Chicago's public school system, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that he has chosen his chief of staff Forrest Claypool to become the city's next schools CEO.

Chicago Public Schools is facing immense challenges, from budget cuts to teacher layoffs, to an ongoing federal investigation which led the city's last permanent schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett to step down. Board of Education vice president Jesse Ruiz has served as her temporary fill-in until now.

Claypool has worked in various locations around City Hall since the '80s and is a close confidant of the mayor. Before being tapped as Rahm's chief of staff, he served as the head of the CTA for four years, where he gained notoriety for firing underperforming employees. He also served two terms as Mayor Richard M. Daley's chief of staff and has also ran the Chicago Park District.

In a press conference announcing his choice, the Emanuel said Claypool had the leadership skills for the job:

"I've never seen a manager with Forrest Claypool's capacity for leadership. He is proven to be unique with a set of skills in public service, public talent and a spirited sense of public service, from City Hall to the CTA and now he will show that again with our schools. I know Forrest is exactly the right person at the right time to lead CPS at this moment. With the financial crisis at CPS having reached the doors of our schools, Forrest has the skills but also the relationships in Springfield to work through these challenges to ensure the gains we've made educationally continue on the right path and that the financial challenges do not threaten them.

But not everyone is happy with the choice. In a statement, Chicago Teachers' Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey responded:

"Claypool is a political 'fixer' and longtime mayoral insider who represents another non-education, business-style manager of our schools. This appointment suggests that the mayor will look to cut even more from neighborhood schools, when what we need is a return to an education-centered approach."

CTU president Karen Lewis, who has called for an educator to be appointed as the next schools CEO, also expressed dismay over the choice, according to a Sun-Times reporter: