CPS board president resigns

Only a week after being sworn in as president of the Chicago Public School board, Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson stepped down from the job.

A week earlier, on October 24, Mayor Johnson (no relation) had selected Rev. Johnson to replace the former board chair after the entire board resigned.

His appointment drew backlash from Jewish groups, city council members, and Governor Pritzker over Rev. Johnson’s history of inflammatory antisemitic, misogynistic, and other offensive posts.

Before October 7, Rev. Johnson had a track record of collaboration with Jewish communal groups, but his comments pertaining to the Jewish community shifted following the attacks.

Since then, his anti-Jewish posts have included:

*Ten days after the October 7 attacks, he leaned into antisemitic tropes when endorsed a post calling Zionist Jews “luciferians.”

*In December 2023, Rev. Johnson exonerated Hamas for October 7 when he wrote: “Stop blaming Hamas.” That same month, he called for the “real Jews” to stand with him and condemn Israel’s actions in the Israel-Gaza war.

*In February 2024, he posted: The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by the Zionist Jews.”

In March 2024, he celebrated the October 7 attacks when he said “…People have an absolute right to attack their oppressors by any means necessary!!!”

Following news of Rev. Johnson’s appointment, Chicago synagogues and Jewish communal organizations-including JUF-signed onto a letter to the mayor expressing their collective anger and disappointment over the mayor’s pick, arguing that his blatant antisemitism should have disqualified him from consideration.

“…Johnson has made deeply offensive and antisemitic comments, calling into doubt his ability to fairly represent Jewish students and families in Chicago Public Schools,” posted Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), who is the City Council’s only Jewish member and who organized the letter to Mayor Johnson.

Before resigning, Rev. Johnson issued an apology to “the Jewish community” for his posts, calling them “clearly reactive and insensitive,” but resisted calls to step down.

The mayor initially defended Rev. Johnson’s appointment, but soon changed course, announcing Rev. Johnson’s resignation at the mayor’s own request.

“I want to be clear: antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable,” the mayor wrote in a Oct. 31 statement.

JUF and other Jewish groups applauded the resignation. “The right thing happened in our city today. An antisemitic, misogynistic, conspiracy-theorist will NOT head the Board of Education for Chicago Public Schools,” said Jane Charney, JUF Associate Vice President of Local Government Affairs. “We are proud of the way our community supported JUF’s efforts to ensure this outcome-one that is significant not just for the Jewish community but for all CPS students, teachers, staff, and families.”