Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson noting he would not be assessing the academic outcomes of Chicago Public Schools but assessing the school system by how much it pays people “who rely upon it.”

“My responsibility is not simply to just grade the system, but to fund the system. That’s how I am ultimately going to grade how our public school system is working. Based upon the investments that we make in the people who rely upon it,” Johnson said in a video.

Illinois Policy’s Austin Berg recently highlighted Johnson’s comments.

“Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will not judge the success of Chicago Public Schools based on outcomes, but rather on how much money they can spend,” Berg said on X.

Johnson, a former union organizer and teacher, has been paid $390,000 by the Chicago Teacher’s Union over the past five years and continued to be on their payroll up until his election, according to Illinois Policy.

Johnson’s candidacy was heavily backed by public sector unions.

Of the campaign donations he received by 93% came from public sector unions and teacher’s unions have given 62% of that worth $5.6 million.