Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board president resigned Thursday after coming under fire for social media posts critics including Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the mayor deemed antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial.
“Today, I asked Chicago School Board of Education (BOE) President Reverend Mitchell Johnson for his resignation, and he resigned, effective immediately,” the mayor, who is not related to Johnson, said in a statement. “Reverend Mitchell Johnson’s statements were not only hurtful but deeply disturbing. I want to be clear: antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable.”
The mayor’s announcement Thursday afternoon came about two hours after Gov. JB Pritzker called on the Rev. Johnson to step down from his post. Pritzker was openly critical this week about how City Hall vetted Johnson for the schools job in light of the Facebook posts, which surfaced after he took his post.
“Any person charged with the stewardship of the Chicago Public School Board must exemplify focused, inclusive, and steady leadership,” Pritzker said in a statement Thursday. “The views expressed in the current Chair’s posts – antisemitism, misogyny, fringe conspiracy theories – very clearly do not meet that standard.
The Rev. Johnson was appointed by him to the school board’s top leadership role after all seven previous members resigned earlier this month. A few state legislators and City Council members questioned that decision and called for his resignation because of dozens of anti-Israel posts he’d made, which were first reported by Jewish Insider.
The Rev. Johnson has in the past been active with the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, he started posting about the Israel-Hamas war on Facebook.
“My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment,” he wrote in a post Dec. 19.
“The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by Zionist Jews,” in another dated Feb. 20.
The dozens of Facebook posts by Rev. Johnson about Israel continued into the spring.
After the posts were made publicly known on social media, more than 20 aldermen signed a letter asking for Johnson’s immediate resignation, stating that his “continued role on the school board is non-negotiable.” They called on both the Rev. Johnson and the mayor to correct “this terrible mistake.”
“This situation is a failure of leadership and judgment on the part of Mayor Johnson and his executive team,” the letter reads. “Earlier this month, Mayor Johnson told reporters his appointees would be thoroughly vetted before they were sworn in. It is clear that did not take place.”
The letter directly addressed Rev. Johnson’s December Facebook post about being “drunk with Israeli power.” That post was unfairly “holding American Jews responsible for the actions of military halfway across the world,” the letter states.
In a statement to the Tribune Wednesday, the Rev. Johnson said he has worked “hand in hand” with the Jewish community in Chicago to fight antisemitism.
“I am deeply sorry for not being more precise and deliberate in my comments posted last year,” he said. “Since that time I asked for and received feedback from my Jewish friends and colleagues who helped me be more thoughtful in how I address these sensitive matters.”
On Thursday, the mayor also said in his statement his administration is “committed to upholding the mission of transforming our public education system” and the reverend’s ” continued participation (as school board president) 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,” Mayor Johnson said. “I remain steadfast in my commitment to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that every child in Chicago has access to the quality education they deserve. Protecting and empowering the students in Chicago Public Schools remains our North Star.”
Pritzker on Thursday didn’t cite specific posts by the Rev. Johnson in his statement calling on him to resign. But aside from the anti-Israel posts, Johnson on May 27 on Facebook appeared to indicate his agreement with a misogynistic comment posted on his account.
The post quotes Johnson saying “Sad Facts” in reference to an image that reads, “When a Man earns money he dreams of giving his family and his wife the best. But when a Woman earns money she feels She does not need her man and her family.”
And in a Jan. 11 Facebook post, it quoted Johnson saying “Facts!!!” in reference to a conspiracy theory about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. that “3,000+ EXPERTS AGREE: 9/11 Really Was An Inside Job.”
Responding to Rev. Johnson’s posts Wednesday, Mayor Johnson said the board president has since apologized for the comments made and how “harmful they have been to people of the Jewish community.”
