Chicago mayor appoints more social justice warriors to school board after mass resignations

Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed six new members to the Chicago school board, replacing several radical progressivists with more of the same.

Johnson took bipartisan heat when the previous seven members of the Chicago Board of Education all resigned on Friday. Six of them had been appointed by Johnson last summer and had histories as social justice warriors.

After the mass resignation, the City Council expressed “extreme cause for concern” about the mayor’s leadership tactics, including wanting to take out a high-interest loan to cover the school district’s budget deficit. 

Nevertheless, Johnson forged ahead, appointing six new school board members on Monday. 

“I am confident that these individuals and their experience in education, community, faith, business and elsewhere will continue our work to transform Chicago Public Schools into a world class school district for students and families,” Johnson said in a press release. 

The new appointees were Frank Niles Thomas, Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson, Olga Bautista, Michilla “Kyla” Blaise, Mary Gardner and Deborah Pope. 

But like the mayor’s last round of picks, several of the new board members subscribe to radical progressive ideologies. 

For example, Olga Bautista’s professional experience is in community outreach and advocacy – not education. Her LinkedIn profile describes her current role as co-executive director of the Southeast Environmental Task Force.  

“We advocate ending sacrifice zones in Chicago, promoting equitable land use and permitting, and providing safe, natural spaces where residents can enjoy and reconnect with nature,” she wrote. 

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “Chicago’s long legacy of environmental racism created sacrifice zones where polluting industries were allowed to accumulate next to schools, parks, and homes in communities of color.”  

Another organization described Bautista as “bringing deep roots in the environmental justice community and wealth of experience as an environmental advocate.” 

And on her X (formerly Twitter) bio, she calls herself an “eco-warrior” and a “socialist.”  

Another controversial appointee was Deborah Pope, an activist with the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU), who was criticized on social media for her union work and pension.  

“Part-time grievance writer, full-time pensioner,” one X user wrote alongside a photo of Pope’s pension amounts. 

According to a profile posted on CTU’s website, Pope “fought [against] the Vietnam War, marched for civil rights, women’s rights and reproductive freedom. She’s been a member of four different labor unions and is currently the first woman vice president of the Illinois Labor History Society.” 

As a student, she was expelled from the University of Wisconsin at Madison for her participation in the anti-Vietnam war effort. 

“I never went to class. I spent all my time in the movement, organizing,” Pope recalled. 

She later became a bilingual history teacher despite allegedly not knowing much Spanish and infused a Marxist worldview into her classrooms.  

“I wanted my students to learn big ideas and see history through the lens of ordinary people, not through the lens of kings and presidents. I wanted them to figure out how conflicts impacted working people, the pressures facing them and who benefits from that.” 

Johnson also appointed Michilla “Kyla” Blaise, who boasts leadership roles with several local organizations, including:  

• Board member at Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program, a government program that redistributes wealth in certain neighborhoods by taxing residents and then compensating those whose home value decreases; 

• Executive director at Judicial Accountability Political Action Committee, a group promoting progressively minded judges and trying to unseat others; 

• And board secretary at Westside Center for Justice, a “community-centered” justice group promoting restorative justice. 

Blaise attended this year’s Democratic National Convention, saying there was “palpable love” for Joe Biden. 

New appointee Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson’s previous experience includes business, consulting, economic development and advocacy, but not education.  

Mary Gardner is known for her community advocacy as well. She made the news in 2021 for protesting local doctors who gave the COVID-19 vaccine to people who weren’t “eligible” to receive it. 

And appointee Frank Niles Thomas is an Air Force veteran with previous experience in organized labor. He served on the school council of Dunne Elementary.