Mr. Mayor,

When it comes to dirty politics, Chicago wrote the book. Anyone old enough to remember awful chapters of our collective history — the shameful Council Wars period of the 1980s, the abuses brought to light by the notorious Operation Silver Shovel investigation of the 1990s, or the details that recently have emerged from the trials of former Ald. Ed Burke and former House Speaker and ward boss Mike Madigan — should perhaps guard against sounding too shocked by news that a Chicago elected official has stooped to a new low. 

But there’s little reason to doubt what happened tonight — the firing of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez — will go down in Chicago history as another example of rotten government at work.

Ald. Nicholas Sposato put it succinctly in his remarks during tonight’s special meeting of the Chicago Board of Education, calling your hand-picked school board members “a bunch of political hacks that are stepping in to do some dirty work.”

Those who attended the meeting expressed frustration with a range of issues and challenges facing the CPS system — and that system includes the teachers and staffers who work there every day, the neighborhoods that rely on the schools as anchors of their communities, the parents who want the best possible education for their children, and the children themselves. What’s more than unfortunate is that the actions your board took tonight — and the actions they can now be relied upon to take next — will saddle taxpayers with potentially billions in costs that will do little to help resolve those issues and challenges. The board’s next step will likely be approving a contract with the Chicago Teachers Union that the district simply can’t afford. Will the district borrow to cover the additional costs? Will the district’s credit rating, already below investment grade, sink further? The resounding message from your representatives on the school board tonight: “Who cares?”

The damage done to the school system tonight is only a part of the story. Mr. Mayor, in your handling of this entire matter you have demonstrated you are not a mayor for all of Chicago but only for your friends at the Chicago Teachers Union. You have demonstrated you are willing to use your power to benefit those closest to you while using the children you say you care about as political cover for your disastrous decision-making. Read More At Crain’s Chicago Business!