Mayor's chief of staff appointed to lead Chicago Public Schools

Forrest Claypool has led the city's park and transportation systems, but does not have experience in education administration.

UPDATE: Forrest Claypool has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools. Mayor Rahm Emanuel also announced that Janice K. Jackson has been named Chief Education Officer, and Frank M. Clark has been named school board president.

Claypool, who has been the mayor's chief of staff since April, has a long record of service in municipal government and a reputation for fixing troubled agencies, but does not have any background in education administration.

Jackson has been with the school district more than 15 years, most recently as chief of schools for Network 9, a section of the district's South Side. She also has been principal at Al Raby High School and Westinghouse College Prep.

Clark retired in 2012 as chairman and chief executive officer of ComEd, the Chicago area's electrical utility. He is replacing David Vitale, who has been school board president since May 2011.

EARLIER...WLS-TV reports that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's chief of staff is expected to be named the new CEO for Chicago Public Schools.

The Chicago school system, the nation's third-largest public school district, has been without a permanent CEO since June, when Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigned amid a federal investigation into a $20.5 million no-bid contract.

Prior to becoming Emanuel's chief of staff, Claypool was president of the Chicago Transit Authority. Under the previous mayor, Richard M. Daley, Claypool also served as chief of staff and as superintendent of the Chicago Park District. From 2002 to 2010, he was a Cook Country Commissioner.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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