Chicago School Board of Education president resigns amid controversy over alleged antisemitic remarks

CHICAGO - Rev. Mitchell Johnson was only on the job for seven days – long enough to have one board meeting. He announced his resignation on Thursday after a torrent of social media posts were uncovered expressing antisemitic views, 9/11 truther views, and misogyny.

Last night, Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his pick to lead the school board, saying he’d apologized.

"I know he’s going to continue to work and sit down with Jewish leaders in the city of Chicago and beyond to begin to work towards restoration and healing," Johnson said at the time.

But less than 24 hours later – a much different story. In a statement, the mayor says, quote:

"Reverend Mitchell Johnson’s statements were not only hurtful but deeply disturbing. I want to be clear: antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable. My administration is committed to upholding the mission of transforming our public education system. It has become clear that his continued participation in the BOE would hinder the important work we need to accomplish for our schools. We will proceed promptly to identify a qualified individual who shares our dedication to educational excellence and will serve with an unwavering commitment to the values we hold dear."

Earlier in the day, Governor JB Pritzker requested that he resign, as did a supermajority of city council members.

"He should’ve never been hired," said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. "Once you go through a simple Google search, all of these things would have popped up. The mayor said those aren’t his views, but you’re supporting and you’re perpetuating these types of views."

It adds to the self-inflicted turmoil at the top of Chicago Public Schools – as Johnson came in with the mayor’s new school board appointees, after his previous school board resigned en masse after refusing to bow to pressure to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

The resignation drew statements of relief from Jewish organizations. A statement from the American Jewish Committee reads:

"We are grateful for leaders like @GovPritzker who called on Rev. Johnson to resign following revelations of several antisemitic, anti-Israel, and pro-Hamas messages on social media. We are alarmed that @ChicagosMayor appointed someone with such a clear track record of hate in the first place and urge stricter vetting processes moving forward."

Johnson says his team will move quickly to find a new board chairperson to lead CPS, as the city’s first elections for school board are now only five days away.