A government accountability group recently called for the resignation of Forrest Claypool, Chicago Public Schools CEO, following a CPS inspector general report.
“The actions of Forrest Claypool—hiring of a friend, and then covering up the hire and lying to law enforcement—violate city rules, period,” Faisal Khan, CEO of Project Six, said in a press release following the scathing report, asserting that Claypool repeatedly lied and tried to cover up improper spending and conflicts of interest with a contracting firm for the city.
“He should resign or be fired,” Khan said in the release. “Those should be the only options on the table.”
Faisal Khan
Claypool has since resigned, effective at the end of the year.
“Lying to an inspector general has been a fireable offense in Chicago for a very long time and many teachers, police and city workers have lost their jobs for that very reason,” he said in the release. “This report is simply calling for fair applications of the city’s ethics laws, regardless of title.”
Khan held firm in his insistence that Claypool had to go despite Emanuel rallying to his defense.
“Honest mistakes in government happen, but for a public official to go through such efforts to cover up misconduct and lie is an ultimate betrayal of the public’s trust,” he added in the release. “And for Mayor Emanuel to try and search for a silver lining to Claypool’s actions shows that the mayor is much more concerned with protecting his political allies than fighting for what’s best for Chicago students and taxpayers.”
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