CPS Board of Education president resigns
Amid a wave of backlash over troubling social media posts that were criticized as antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial, Chicago’s new Board of Education president is resigning at the request of Mayor Brandon Johnson just seven days after he was sworn into office. It’s the latest stunning development in the ongoing leadership struggle atop Chicago Public Schools.
The Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson and six other board members took their positions last Thursday after the entire school board resigned. The mayor announced them as his chosen replacements earlier in the month.
Rev. Johnson’s resignation Thursday came after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called for him to step down following similar calls by 40 alderpersons and many Jewish leaders.
The mayor said he asked for the resignation Thursday. The previous day, the mayor accepted Rev. Johnson’s apology for his remarks and said the board president, who had said he didn’t intend to step down, would “work toward restoration and healing.”
“Reverend Mitchell Johnson’s statements were not only hurtful but deeply disturbing,” the mayor said in a statement five days before Chicago’s first school board elections. “I want to be clear: Antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable.
“My administration is committed to upholding the mission of transforming our public education system. It has become clear that his continued participation in the [Board of Education] would hinder the important work we need to accomplish for our schools.”
The mayor said his office would “proceed promptly” to find a replacement. Friday’s Board of Education meeting would go on as planned, he said.
The resigning board president had tried to tamp down criticism Wednesday by saying he was “deeply sorry for not being more precise and deliberate in my comments.
“Let me start by apologizing to the Jewish community for the remarks I posted, which were clearly reactive and insensitive,” Johnson told the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ in an interview. “Since that time, I have asked for and received feedback from my Jewish friends and colleagues who helped me be more thoughtful as I addressed these sensitive matters.”
A review of Johnson’s Facebook account showed that, from October 2023 to a few months ago, he often wrote pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel posts on social media, many of which referenced Jewish people in hostile and inflammatory ways.
In one, he said, “My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment.” In another, he said the “Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by Zionist Jews.” This was atop a video he shared comparing the depopulation and destruction in Gaza to the Holocaust.
The media outlet Jewish Insider first reported about Johnson’s posts on Tuesday, calling them “antisemitic” and “pro-Hamas.”
More posts came to light Thursday, including the one criticized as misogynistic and another that featured a 9/11 conspiracy theory.
Sarah van Loon, regional director of the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee, said people can criticize Israel without being antisemitic. But she said Johnson’s actions crossed that line.
“There were so many parts of his social media engagement that engaged in everything from medieval antisemitism to super contemporary antisemitism and just complete disregard or respect for our community,” van Loon said.
Beyond Rev. Johnson, she and others questioned the vetting process of the new board members, asking how these messages got through. On Wednesday, Rev. Johnson said he was “pretty confident that the things that are relevant to my experience were vetted.”
The mayor’s office did not respond to questions about whether these posts turned up their vetting process.
CPS is responsible for examining whether candidates have financial or legal issues that would prevent them from serving, but it is unclear if anyone is responsible for a broader review. When he announced his appointees, Mayor Johnson promised a thorough vetting.
Johnson was not well known in Chicago’s education community. But he was touted as an economic development expert, who helped get contracts for minority-owned companies. He also regularly hosts a WVON radio program and founded a consulting company.
There also have been questions about whether Johnson lives in Chicago and about his past. He was disbarred in Ohio nearly 30 years ago and at one point was so delinquent on his child support that he had a lien on his house.
The sudden resignation is another blow to the mayor, who has suffered one setback after another in his dealings with the school system. Earlier this month, the entire school board, which he appointed and were his allies, resigned en masse.
It came after the mayor’s office and the CEO clashed over how to deal with a budget shortfall. The mayor’s office then tried to lay the groundwork to replace CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. But the school board was hesitant to do so without clear cause.
Rather than stay in the middle of the dispute, the board stepped aside.
In announcing the new board, Mayor Johnson tried to make the case that he was bringing stability to the system. Some of his appointees, he said, might be able to stay on after January, which is when the board will expand to 21 people and be partly elected, partly appointed.