July 17--Mayor Rahm Emanuel has plenty of problems. One is that he doesn't have enough Forrest Claypools.
The mayor has just one, and he has wisely dispatched his best turnaround pro to rescue the Chicago Public Schools. This is good news.
In 1993, Claypool was sent by Mayor Richard M. Daley to save the Chicago Park District. By the time he left, the payroll was cut by 25 percent, the parks were much cleaner, the recreation programs far more robust. Claypool didn't make a lot of political friends, he just made a better park system.
In 2011, Claypool was sent by Emanuel to save the Chicago Transit Authority. Claypool clamped down on rampant absenteeism and other inefficiencies, closed a $300 million deficit, completed the massive overhaul of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line on time and on budget.
He has served as a Cook County commissioner. He has served three times for two mayors as chief of staff. He is a cool, unflappable leader. He does not tolerate inefficiency because, heck, it's close enough for government work. He has a portfolio and a skill set as a government salvation expert that is unmatched in Chicago.
This challenge at Chicago schools, well, this is on a whole different level.
There's the $1.1 billion budget gap. The massive pension debt. The addiction to borrowing. The contentious contract negotiation with teachers.
And, oh yes, a federal corruption investigation focused on a $20 million no-bid contract.
Claypool will have help to save the school system. Emanuel on Thursday named retired ComEd executive Frank Clark as president of the Chicago Board of Education, replacing David Vitale. Clark showed grace and patience under pressure when he led a commission that evaluated school closings in 2013. He has supported education reform efforts: He's the Clark in Rowe-Clark Math Science Academy, part of the Noble Network of Charter Schools.
Emanuel also tabbed Janice Jackson, a former principal and high school teacher, to be the new chief education officer for CPS. Jackson, who led Al Raby High School and Westinghouse College Prep, will focus her energies on continuing the improvement in student test scores and graduation rates. A mission that is critical -- and a mission that will be rendered moot if the school system collapses under the weight of its financial crisis.
So, no nationwide searches for new leaders. There wasn't time. And there may not have been need. This is a strong, home-grown team.
The Chicago Teachers Union was not, to put it mildly, impressed.
"I said 'Run Forrest Run' away from this. This would be a mistake for you," CTU President Karen Lewis said Thursday. It was a good quip.
But we figure the union will work with Claypool in good faith, even if tensions rise over the unfinished contract negotiation. The school system desperately needed a financial turnaround expert. It has found one.
Run with it, Forrest. And good luck.
