View source for Forrest Claypool

{{short description|American politician}}
{{Blacklisted-links|1=
*http://www.lawyers.com/chicago/illinois/forrest-edward-claypool-925350-a/
*:''Triggered by <code>\blawyers\.com\b</code> on the local blacklist''|bot=Cyberbot II|invisible=false}}
{{BLP primary sources|date=April 2008}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Forrest Claypool
|image = Forrest Claypool (4013934875).jpg
|caption= Claypool in 2009
<!-- political -->
|office       = 6th [[CEO of Chicago Public Schools]]
|appointer    = [[Rahm Emanuel]]
|term_start   = July 27, 2015
|term_end     = December 8, 2017
|predecessor  = [[Barbara Byrd-Bennett]]<br>[[Jesse Ruiz (politician)|Jesse Ruiz]] (interim)
|successor    = [[Janice K. Jackson]]
|office1    = President of the [[Chicago Transit Authority]]
|term_start1  = 2011
|term_end1    = 2015
|predecessor1 = [[Richard L. Rodriguez]]
|successor1   = [[Dorval Carter]]
|office2      = Member of the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners]] from the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners 12th district|12th district]]
|term_start2  = {{start date|2002|12}}
|term_end2    = {{end date|2010|12}}
|predecessor2      = [[Ted Lechowicz]]
|successor2       = [[John Fritchey]]
<!-- personal -->
|birth_name  = Forrest Edward Claypool
|birth_date  = {{birth year and age|1958}}
|birth_place  = [[Vandalia, Illinois]]
|death_date=
|death_place=
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|otherparty   =  <!--For additional political affiliations-->
|spouse       = Has a wife
|partner      =  <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
|relations    =
|children     = Three 
|residence    = [[Lakeview, Chicago|Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois]]
|alma_mater  = {{nowrap|[[Southern Illinois University Carbondale|Southern Illinois University]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])}}<br>[[University of Illinois College of Law|University of Illinois]] {{small|([[Juris doctor|J.D.]])}}}}
|occupation   = 
|profession   = Attorney
|committees   =
|religion     = 
|signature    = Forest Claypool signature (transparent background).png
|signature_alt=
|website      =
|footnotes    =
|}}
'''Forrest Edward Claypool'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lawyers.com/chicago/illinois/forrest-edward-claypool-925350-a/|title = Forrest Edward Claypool}}</ref> is an [[Americans|American]] politician who has held several positions in the governments of [[Government of Chicago|Chicago]], [[Government of Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]], and the [[Illinois|State of Illinois]]. He was the Chief Executive Officer of [[Chicago Public Schools]] from July 27, 2015, until December 8, 2017. Previous offices held by Claypool include Superintendent of the Chicago Park District from 1993 to 1998, Chief of Staff to [[Chicago Mayor]] [[Rahm Emanuel]], and President of the [[Chicago Transit Authority]]. In 2007&ndash;2008, Claypool served as a key member of [[Barack Obama]] campaign's media team, in his capacity as a longtime partner of [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]].

An attorney, he lives in the [[Lakeview, Chicago|Lakeview]] neighborhood of [[Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mayor Emanuel Chooses CTA President Forrest Claypool As Next Chief Of Staff|url = http://chicagoist.com/2015/04/24/mayor_emanuel_announced_on_friday.php|website = Chicagoist|accessdate = 2015-12-02|first = Margaret|last = Paulson|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150428010040/http://chicagoist.com/2015/04/24/mayor_emanuel_announced_on_friday.php|archivedate = 2015-04-28}}</ref> Claypool is twice married and has three children.

==Education and early career==
Born in [[Vandalia, Illinois]] in 1958,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Forrest Claypool biography|url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/04/19/forrest-claypool-biography/|website = tribunedigital-chicagotribune| date=19 April 2011 |access-date = 2015-12-02}}</ref> Claypool grew up in downstate in the nearby town of [[St. Elmo, Illinois]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cook assessor candidates in attack mode|url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/10/06/cook-assessor-candidates-in-attack-mode/|website = tribunedigital-chicagotribune| date=6 October 2010 |access-date = 2015-12-02}}</ref> Claypool received his [[bachelor's degree]] from [[Southern Illinois University]] in Carbondale, and in 1981, graduated with a J.D. degree from the [[University of Illinois College of Law]], where he was editor of the school's law review.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Forrest Claypool, '81, Appointed President of CTA - Article {{!}} College of Law - Illinois|url = http://www.law.illinois.edu/news/article/1473|website = www.law.illinois.edu|accessdate = 2015-12-02|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208043008/http://www.law.illinois.edu/news/article/1473|archivedate = 2015-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = CPS : Leadership : Forrest Claypool|url = http://cps.edu/Leadership/pages/forrestclaypool.aspx|website = cps.edu|accessdate = 2015-12-02}}</ref> After school, Claypool worked as an attorney and served in several non-elected positions in state and county government, including deputy commissioner of the Cook County Board of Appeals and as Deputy State Treasurer.

In 1984, he helped his friend [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]], a Democratic political consultant, found the firm Axelrod and Associates (now [[AKPD Message and Media|AKPD Message & Media]]). Claypool served as the firm's managing partner until 1989 when he left to serve in the administration of [[Mayor of Chicago|Mayor]] [[Richard M. Daley]].

==Chicago Park District==
In 1989, Claypool began working for Mayor Daley, serving for two years as his first [[Chief of staff (politics)|Chief of Staff]]. In 1993, Daley asked Claypool to take on the task of overhauling the [[Chicago Park District]] after allegations of the hired truck scandal that made public while he was the mayor's chief of staff.

When Claypool became the [[CEO]] and [[Central Administration|Superintendent]] of the CPD, the District had a budget of $300 million as well as a payroll of 4,100 full-time employees and roughly an equal number of seasonal employees. Despite this extraordinarily large payroll, many basic services were not being performed. Under Claypool's tenure and Daley's command, many of the politically appointed positions were eliminated and many employees were forced to reapply for their jobs. By 1996, the payroll had fallen to 3,000 full-time employees while services improved according to many groups that studied the parks.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

When Claypool took over the District in 1993 it was also in financial disorder. For example, the District had outlays of $65 million for capital improvements but it had only $15 million in cash; it had also reached the maximum on its debt ceiling. Using the money saved from staff attrition and layoff, as well as from canceling projects he felt were wasteful, Claypool began to downsize and privatize some of the park district's services instead of performing them in-house.

"In 1993, Kemper Golf Management, Chicago, took over the operation of the district's six golf courses and two driving ranges. The contract guarantees the park district about $250,000 a year up front for capital improvements, and the remaining revenues are divided equally. In 1992, the district suffered a $530,000 operating deficit; in 1994, that was turned into a $550,000 profit." (Kelly 1995, [[American City and County]]) The CPD also began experimenting with the partial privatization of [[Soldier Field]] and its parking lots. In 1994, Soldier Field turned a profit for the first time in its history. Due to the success of the partial privatization, the Soldier Field Joint Venture started managing the stadium in late 1994.

Claypool left the CPD in 1996 to serve a second term as Chief of Staff to Daley. In 1998, he managed the mayor's successful reelection campaign, one in which he received over 75% of the vote and won majorities of the white, black, Hispanic, and Asian votes.

==Cook County Board==
Casting himself as a "reformer", Claypool made a run for the [[Cook County Board]] in 2002.  Waging a fierce campaign in which he attacked what he saw as patronage and a bloated bureaucracy in the county government, Claypool went on to upset incumbent Commissioner [[Ted Lechowicz]] 51–49% in the March 19 Democratic primary. (Lechowicz was a strong supporter of Cook County Board President [[John Stroger]] Jr.) Because Claypool's district (the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners 12th district|12th district]]) is overwhelmingly Democratic, he faced only nominal opposition in the general election.

Claypool quickly allied himself with fellow freshmen Commissioners [[Larry Suffredin]] (D) and [[Tony Peraica]] (R). The three were joined by sophomore Commissioner [[Michael Quigley (politician)|Mike Quigley]] (D). When, in December 2003, the four reformers garnered enough swing votes to defeat Stroger's FY 2004 budget (the first time such a thing had happened to a Cook County Board President in three decades), Stroger gave Claypool a backhanded compliment, saying, "The media has prevailed, along with Mr. Claypool." This quote ran under the banner headline, "Hell Freezes Over: Cook County Board rejects Stroger's budget" in the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''. The following year (FY 2005), the County Board rejected Stroger's tax increases again. {{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

==County Board president election==
{{main|2006 Cook County, Illinois elections#President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners}}
Claypool declared in December that he would run for the Democratic nomination for County Board President in 2006. John Stroger, who was a Democrat, announced earlier that he would seek a fourth term, setting up a race among Claypool, Stroger, and Quigley for the Democratic nomination. Quigley dropped out in mid-December, saying "I am throwing my full effort and support to help elect Forrest Claypool as the next County Board President."

Claypool raised more campaign funds than every other candidate in 2005, ending the first half of the year with over $900,000. Most pundits agreed that the Democratic primary was the real election, as [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] is one of the most Democratic counties in the entire nation. Claypool won the support of many newspapers, including the ''Chicago Tribune'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', ''[[Crain's Chicago Business]]'', the ''[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]]'', the ''[[Daily Southtown]]'', and others. In addition, he was endorsed by Rep. [[Rahm Emanuel]] and Lt. Gov. [[Pat Quinn (politician)|Pat Quinn]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Despite the endorsements, and the fact that Stroger suffered a stroke a week before, Claypool still lost to Stroger in the primary. The Cook County Democratic Party appointed Stroger's son [[Todd Stroger]] as the nominee to run against Tony Peraica in the general election. Todd Stroger won the election. Claypool refused to endorse Stroger and was chastised heavily by Democratic politicians and stalwarts including Mayor Daley.

==County Assessor election==
{{main|2010 Cook County, Illinois elections#Assessor}}

On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, Claypool announced he would enter the [[Cook County Assessor]] election as an independent candidate. He officially qualified to be entered onto the general election ballot on June 28, after collecting more than three times the number of voter signatures required for independent candidates seeking office in Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagonewscoop.org/claypool-will-appear-on-november-ballot/ |title=Claypool Will Appear on November Ballot / Chicago News Cooperative |accessdate=2010-08-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015060138/http://www.chicagonewscoop.org/claypool-will-appear-on-november-ballot/ |archivedate=2010-10-15 }}</ref> Claypool ran against Democrat [[Joseph Berrios]], Green Robert Grota and Republican Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall. He was the first independent candidate to run in the history of the Cook County Assessor's office.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/forrest-claypool/independence-day-coming-f_b_634360.html|title = Independence Day Coming for Cook County Voters|website = [[HuffPost]]|date = 2 July 2010}}</ref>  Berrios won the race with 47.9 percent of the vote, against 31.8 percent for Claypool, 17.7 percent for Strobeck-Eckersall, and 2.6 percent for Grota.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://elections.chicagotribune.com/results/ |title=Live election results • Chicago Tribune Election Center |accessdate=2010-11-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118191318/http://elections.chicagotribune.com/results/ |archivedate=2010-11-18 }}</ref>

==Post-electoral government career==
On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel—a longtime political ally of Claypool—appointed him president of the [[Chicago Transit Authority]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2011/04/emanuel-names-claypool-new-cta-president.html|title = Clout St: Emanuel names Claypool new CTA president}}</ref> Claypool was named Chief of Staff to mayor [[Rahm Emanuel]] in April 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Spielman|first1=Fran|title=CTA President Forrest Claypool to be Rahm's third chief of staff|url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/546373/exclusive-cta-president-forrest-claypool-will-be-emanuels-third-chief-of-staff|accessdate=17 July 2015|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=23 April 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721013448/http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/546373/exclusive-cta-president-forrest-claypool-will-be-emanuels-third-chief-of-staff|archivedate=21 July 2015}}</ref>

===CEO of Chicago Public Schools===
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on July 16, 2015, that Claypool would assume the role of [[Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools|chief executive officer]] of [[Chicago Public Schools]] on July 27, 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Thometz|first1=Kristen|title=Forrest Claypool to be CPS CEO|url=http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2015/07/16/forrest-claypool-be-cps-ceo|accessdate=17 July 2015|publisher=[[WTTW]]|date=16 July 2015}}</ref> His appointment, affective July 27, was formally approved by the [[Chicago Board of Education]] on July 22.<ref>{{cite web |title=15-0722-RS5 Resolution to Appoint Forest Claypool to the Position of Chief Executive Officer |url=https://www.cpsboe.org/content/actions/2015_07/15-0722-RS5.pdf |website=www.cpsboe.org |publisher=Chicago Board of Education |access-date=4 September 2021 |date=22 July 2015}}</ref> Claypool resigned as CEO on December 8, 2017, after the school district's inspector general accused him of engineering a "full-blown cover-up" during an ethics investigation concerning the school system's chief attorney.<ref>Perez, Juan Jr., Bill Ruthhart and Hal Dardick (8 December 2017). "[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-forrest-claypool-resigns-cps-20171208-story.html CPS chief Forrest Claypool resigns after being accused of ethics probe cover-up]". ''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved January 5, 2018.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claypool, Forrest}}
[[Category:CEOs of Chicago Public Schools]]
[[Category:Chicago Transit Authority]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cook County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners]]
[[Category:Illinois Democrats]]
[[Category:Southern Illinois University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Illinois College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chicago]]
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Educators from Illinois]]

{{Chicago Public Schools CEOs/superintendents|state=collapsed}}