Despite Stacking The Deck…Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Loses Battle To Bail Out CPS With $200M Loan

Posted • September 2, 2025: Remember when we thought Lori Lightfoot was the worst thing to happen to Chicago? Good times. Turns out her replacement, Brandon Johnson, is an even worse mayor than Lightfoot. For over a year, Johnson and the Chicago Teachers' Union have been pushing to take out an unconstitutional loan to cover the Chicago Public School (CPS) district's operating deficit. Last week, the school board held a vote on the issue and voted against Johnson and the school board. However, the story is much more dramatic than that, as this thread reveals. 🧵 The longest political battle of Brandon Johnson’s tenure as mayor of Chicago came to an end on Thursday. And despite stacking the deck heavily in his favor, the mayor lost. How did that happen? And what happens next? Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union have pushed Chicago Public Schools to take out a $200 million, high-interest loan for more than a year – leaving a trail of charred political capital in their wake.

Consider what happened instead of support for Johnson’s loan ➡️ • The entire school board resigned in October. • CPS CEO Pedro Martinez endured a months-long smear campaign by the CTU, which culminated in his firing just before Christmas. • A majority of school board candidates who won their elections in November vocally opposed the loan on the campaign trail. • Johnson’s new CEO, Dr. Macquline King, refused to include the loan in her proposed budget. • The powerful SEIU Local 73 broke from the CTU and opposed the loan.• A majority of City Council members signed a letter opposing the loan, including staunch Johnson allies like Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Jeanette Taylor. • Chicago Public Schools’ chief budget officer warned the loan would trigger a “downward spiral” of credit downgrades, higher borrowing costs and cuts. —— And yet, Johnson persisted. The mayor’s frustration culminated in remarks at a town hall meeting last week. “You put a Black man in charge of a city and all of a sudden everybody wants to be an accountant,” he said.

Johnson was the guy who said being fiscally responsible is akin to slavery, in case you forgot. But at the Aug. 28 meeting of the Chicago Board of Education, the mayor was poised to finally put this issue to rest. The 21-member school board only needed a majority vote to approve Johnson’s loan as part of its annual budget. And the mayor directly appointed the majority of members, going so far as to fill one vacancy immediately before the vote. Here's where the drama really begins. The board meeting began with fireworks, as member Che “Rhymefest” Smith called out newly appointed board member Angel Velez for his intent to vote on the loan just minutes after being sworn in. —— Fireworks immediately flying at the Chicago Public Schools board meeting. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed new board member Angel Velez just hours before the district’s budget vote in order to secure more support for a $200 million high-interest loan.

Fellow board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith asked if Velez would abstain from the budget vote, given his oath of office to respect taxpayer interests. Velez has not received board member briefings on the budget prior to this vote. Johnson-appointed Board President Sean Harden then steps in to stop Smith’s line of questioning. —— Those concerns were echoed by Illinois State Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago. —— Illinois State Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, calls out Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for appointing school board member Angel Velez just hours before voting on a $200M high-interest loan. “When you install someone to serve and make a decision as critical as this is a few hours before without anyone they represent knowing who they are…that’s business as usual. And I’m highly offended as a taxpayer, as a lawmaker who has been an ally to the city that I love and stay in, and as a parent of Chicago Public Schools students.” —— When you lose state Democrats, you've got a problem.

Lengthy debate ensued. The board took its budget vote. And shockingly, most members went against the mayor, including several members he appointed. —— The Chicago Board of Education votes 12-7 to pass a budget that does NOT include the $200M high-interest loan pushed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union for more than a year. This is a HUGE win for Chicagoans. Thanks so much to the hundreds of voters who contacted their board member using our platform over the two weeks. You made a big difference! https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1961236486025515008/vid/avc1/1586x888/6KycnahHp317JgH1.mp4 —— ROLL CALL ⬇️

*Appointed by Brandon Johnson
**Elected by voters
***Ran unopposed

12 VOTING AYE (against the loan)
Che "Rhymefest" Smith**
Yesenia Lopez**
Therese Boyle**
Cydney Wallace*
Jennifer Custer**
Ellen Rosenfeld**
Carlos Rivas**
Angel Gutierrez**
Jessica Biggs**
Anusha Thotakura*
Ebony DeBerry**
Ed Bannon*

7 VOTING NO (for the loan)
Emma Lozano*
Angel Velez*
Rios-Sierra*
Jitu Brown***
Olga Bautista*
Michilla Blaise*
Karen Zaccor*

1 ABSTAIN
Debby Pope*

Hahahahahahaha. The board voted 12-7 for Dr. King’s budget (and against the loan). Three Johnson appointees voted in favor of the budget: Ed Bannon, Anusha Thotakura, and Cydney Wallace. Another, Debby Pope, abstained. CPS is the largest municipal junk-bond issuer in the nation for a reason … it’s extremely rare to see school leadership stand up against reckless borrowing this way. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GzruMD4WMAAxm5j?format=jpg&name=medium —— It's extremely rare to see a school board oppose such reckless spending. Which tells us this was next-level bad. The school district avoided disaster with this budget vote. But CPS finances remain extremely fragile. The city may have to consider bankruptcy. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GzsconmXAAAEOm5?format=jpg&name=small (…)

• More at: Twitchy - Despite Stacking the Deck, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Loses Battle to Bail Out CPS With $200M Loan
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2025/09/01/brandon-johnson-loses-battle-for-200m-bail-out-loan-n2418257
Rumble: Fireworks At Chicago Board Meeting Voting On High-Interest Loan Funding Public School Deficit…Part 1
https://rumble.com/v6yert6-fireworks-at-chicago-board-meeting-voting-on-high-interest-loan-funding-pub.html
Rumble: Fireworks At Chicago Board Meeting Voting On High-Interest Loan Funding Public School Deficit…Part 2
https://rumble.com/v6yerua-fireworks-at-chicago-board-meeting-voting-on-high-interest-loan-funding-pub.html