CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Mayor Brandon Johnson is publicly downplaying the apparent power struggle between him and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
Up to now, it's mostly been high-level sources who have done the talking for Johnson in the standoff over school funding.
In a Chicago Tribune op-ed, Martinez said the mayor asked him to resign after he resisted pressure to engage in short-term borrowing to help pay for a new teachers contract.
Speaking in Englewood Monday, Johnson said otherwise.
“I didn’t ask anybody to do anything,” Johnson insisted. “The only thing that I’m requiring in this moment is leadership that’s prepared to invest in our children. The strategy is ultimately about what’s best for our children.”
Martinez, and the School Board, have thus far resisted pressure to take on more debt to help pay for a new Teacher's contract. The mayor did not address that point directly.
Johnson said it is not about whose political wishes should be prioritized but about getting more money for the schools.
Both men, in fact, say the money should come from Springfield. But, while governor Pritzker says he wishes he could do more, the State has not been able to come up with more money for schools across Illinois.
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