Chicago’s mayor has teamed up with the city’s top teacher’s union president to try to oust Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez.
Why? Because Martinez has had the courage to stand up to the two bullies and their demands.
According to Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Martinez has argued — and with the Chicago Board of Education’s backing — that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest budget proposal would effectively bankrupt the school district.
NEW: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is now pushing to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
Yesterday, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates accused Martinez of being “insubordinate” after his team presented numbers… pic.twitter.com/q312LTmoqM
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) August 14, 2024
This hasn’t pleased either Johnson or his crony union allies at the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Indeed, CTU president Stacy Davis Gates has called Martinez “insubordinate” for daring to speak out.
“Every other mayor in this city has told them what to do and they’ve done it,” Gates said this week of past CPS CEOS, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “They told them to put up Willis Wagons. They did it, right? They told them to close 50 schools on black kids, and they did it, right?”
“You’ve got to ask Pedro why he doesn’t comply with the [mayoral] transition report that the mayor’s team said yes to. That’s the question. You can ask [Gov.] JB [Pritzker], too. You can ask [Board of Education President] Jianan Shi. You can ask all those boys how they are going to lead this district into the transformation that these children deserve,” she added.
At issue is basically Johnson’s devotion to the CTU and its ridiculous demands.
Nearly 100% of Brandon Johnson’s campaign is funded by government unions, primarily CTU.
So WVON’s Matt McGill asked him: “How do you provide confidence to voters that you’ll be independent and not beholden to these groups, especially when negotiating union contracts?”#Local1 pic.twitter.com/pEU9URfx2q
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) February 14, 2023
According to ChalkBeat, in recent weeks the board passed a realistic $9.9 billion budget pushed by Martinez that would reportedly close the district’s $505 million deficit through spending cuts.
But because Johnson is a leftist socialist, he doesn’t believe in spending cuts. If anything, he wants to spend even more money by pursuing a new contract with CTU and by also paying out $175 million in pensions for non-teaching staff.
“The 700-plus proposal package covers a variety of issues, including 9% raises for teachers and other members, additional staff to schools, and more support for students and their families in need, such as housing assistance,” according to ChalkBeat.
The board and CPS have rejected these outrageous demands.
“The board and CPS also rejected the Johnson administration’s recommendation to take out a short-term loan to pay for additional expenses, including the cost of new teachers and principal contracts and the pension payment,” as noted by ChalkBeat.
According to the Heartland Institute, the spendthrift budget also includes “$2,500 retirement bonuses; fully paid abortions for all members; a bevy of mandated positions at all schools, such as “Climate Champion,” “restorative justice coordinator,” and “gender support coordinator;” housing subsidies for CTU staff and CPS families; and creation of 180 new “sustainable community schools.”
In addition to “total teacher autonomy over the curriculum; the implementation of a 100 percent electric bus fleet; a district-wide carbon neutral mandate by 2035; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pension investments; weight-loss drug coverage for all members; and $2,000 for each undocumented student.”
It’s basically a progressive wish list of insane demands, and Johnson, a rabidly far-left radical, supports it — all of it.
Brandon Johnson is telling Chicago voters he’ll be independent from his employer and largest funder: the Chicago Teachers Union.
So how does he explain this internal CTU email explicitly stating the union will do better at the bargaining table under his leadership? #Local1 pic.twitter.com/4lrRVU6ANR
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) February 16, 2023
And because Martinez rightly refuses to fall in line, Johnson is now reportedly aiming to oust him. The good news is it won’t be as easy a task to accomplish as it stands.
“Johnson couldn’t fire the schools CEO, who reports to the Chicago Board of Education, unless his appointed school board agrees,” the Sun-Times notes. “That might seem to be a formality, but Johnson and his board have been at odds over the same issues that have caused friction between the mayor and Martinez — and the board has voted with Martinez in those budget disagreements.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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