Chicago mayor, union leader want public school CEO fired after exposing ugly truth about budget

Chicago's mayor has teamed up with the president of the city's teachers union to try to oust Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez.

Why? Because Martínez had the courage to stand up to the two harassers and their demands.

According to Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, Martinez has argued, with the support of the Chicago Board of Education, that Mayor Brandon Johnson's latest budget proposal would effectively ruin 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 her team presented numbers… pic.twitter.com/q312LTmoqM

— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) August 14, 2024

That didn't sit well with Johnson or his fellow union allies in the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). In fact, the president of the CTU, Stacy Davis Gates, has called Martínez “insubordinate” for having dared to speak.

“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 in Willis Wagons. They did, didn't they? They told them to close 50 schools to black kids, and they did, didn't they?

“You have to ask Pedro why he doesn't comply with the [mayoral] transition report to which the mayor's team said yes. This is the question. you can ask [Gov.] JB [Pritzker]too you can ask [Board of Education President] Jianan Shi. You can ask all these boys how they will lead this district towards the transformation these children deserve,” he added.

The issue is basically Johnson's devotion to the CTU and its ridiculous demands.

Almost 100% of Brandon Johnson's campaign is funded by government unions, mainly CTU.

So WVON's Matt McGill asked him, “How do you give voters confidence that you're going to be independent and not beholden to these groups, especially when you're negotiating union contracts?”#Local1 pic.twitter.com/pEU9URfx2q

— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) February 14, 2023

according to ChalkBeatin recent weeks, the board approved 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 left-wing socialist, he doesn't believe in spending cuts. If anything, he wants to spend even more money pursuing a new contract with CTU and also paying $175 million in pensions for non-teaching staff.

“The package of over 700 proposals covers a variety of issues, including 9% raises for teachers and other members, additional staff in schools and more support for students and their families who need it, 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 pension payments,” as noted ChalkBeat.

According to the Heartland Institutethe spending budget also includes “Retirement bonuses of $2,500; fully paid abortions for all members; a large number of mandated positions in 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 “Full autonomy of the teaching staff over the curriculum; the implementation of a fleet of 100 percent electric buses; a district-wide carbon neutral mandate by 2035; investments in environmental, social and governance (ESG) pensions; weight loss drug coverage for all members; and $2,000 for each undocumented student.”

It's basically a progressive wish list of crazy demands, and Johnson, a rabid far-left radical, supports it, all of it.

Brandon Johnson is telling Chicago voters that he will be independent from his employer and major funder: the Chicago Teachers Union.

So how do you explain this internal CTU email that explicitly states 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 with Martinez refusing to toe the line, Johnson is said to be aiming to throw him out. The good news is that it won't be as easy a task to achieve as it is.

“Johnson could not fire the schools' CEO, which reports to the Chicago Board of Education, unless his appointed school board agrees,” the Sun-Times notes. “This may sound like a red tape, 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 these budget disagreements.”

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

V. Saxena is a BizPac Review 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.

Latest posts from Vivek Saxena (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.