Paul Vallas
Paul Gust Vallas is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools, and a former budget director for the city of Chicago.
Vallas unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Illinois in 2002. He ran for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 2014 with then-incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, losing to the Republican ticket of Bruce Rauner and Evelyn Sanguinetti. In 2019 Vallas ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago, placing ninth out of fourteen candidates in the first round with 5.43% of the vote. Failing to advance to the runoff, he endorsed Lori Lightfoot.
Early life and education
Vallas was born on June 10, 1953. The grandson of Greek immigrants, Vallas grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He spent his teen years living in Palos Heights. He graduated from Carl Sandburg High School and attended Moraine Valley Community College and then Western Illinois University, where he received a bachelor's degree in history and political science, a master's degree in political science, and a teaching certificate.Chicago Public Schools
During his tenure as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001, he led an effort to reform the school system, and his work was cited by President Bill Clinton for raising test scores, balancing the budget, and instituting several new programs including mandatory summer school, after school programs, and expanding alternative, charter, and magnet schools.The position of CEO of the CPS was created by Mayor Richard M. Daley after he successfully convinced the Illinois State Legislature to place CPS under mayoral control. Vallas had previously directed the budget arm of the Illinois State Legislature and served as budget director for Daley.
2002 Illinois gubernatorial election
Following his tenure at CPS, Vallas ran for Governor of Illinois as a Democrat. Vallas placed second in the Democratic primary, losing narrowly to now-former-Governor Rod Blagojevich while running ahead of former state Attorney General Roland Burris.Philadelphia School District
Following the election, Vallas was appointed CEO of School District of Philadelphia. In this capacity, he presided over the nation's largest experiment in privatized management of schools, with the management of over 40 schools turned over to outside for-profits, nonprofits, and universities beginning in Fall 2002.Return to Chicago
In 2005, Vallas considered challenging Blagojevich again for Illinois governor in the Democratic Primary but decided against it. He then signed a two-year contract as superintendent of the Recovery School District of Louisiana. Vallas ultimately remained head of the Recovery School District through 2011.On April 28, 2008 he appeared before the City Club of Chicago and on Chicago news shows discussing a possible run for governor in 2010. In February 2009, Vallas gave an interview to Carol Marin in the Chicago Sun-Times and stated that he planned to return to Cook County, Illinois in 2009 and run as a Republican for Cook County Board president in 2010.
On June 11, 2009, Vallas announced that he would not be a candidate for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010. Vallas stated that he could not "begin a political campaign while trying to finish what he started—rebuild the school system there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
After Haiti's 2010 earthquake, President René Préval gave the Inter-American Development Bank the mandate to work with the Education Ministry and the National Commission preparing a major reform of the Education System in a 5-year plan to reconstruct; Mr. Vallas has been working with the bank in this effort.
Bridgeport Public Schools
In 2013, Vallas became Superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools. On June 28, 2013, a state superior court judge ruled that Vallas did not complete a state-mandated school leadership program and was therefore not qualified to be superintendent in Connecticut. On July 17, 2013 the State Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of the ruling and to decide if he should remain in office. This followed several months of controversy over Vallas' credentials to serve as superintendent in the state of Connecticut.2014 lieutenant gubernatorial nominee
In November 2013, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn tapped Vallas to be his running mate in the 2014 election, after incumbent lieutenant governor Sheila Simon chose to unsuccessfully run for Comptroller. Quinn and Vallas lost the election to the Republican ticket of Bruce Rauner and Evelyn Sanguinetti.2019 Chicago mayoral candidacy
In March 2018, Vallas formally filed to become a candidate in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election.When he entered the race, Vallas was seen to be a potentially strong opponent to incumbent Rahm Emanuel, who was seeking reelection at the time.
In September, Emanuel dropped out of the race, and the field for mayor grew, with many high-profile candidates entering the race.
Among the numerous candidates to enter the race after Emanuel withdrew was Gery Chico, Vallas' one-time political ally, with whom he oversaw Chicago Public Schools. Vallas had endorsed Chico for mayor in 2011. Despite this history, Vallas did not hesitate to criticize Chico as a mayoral opponent.
Vallas staked a large part of his candidacy on his record as head of Chicago Public Schools, arguing that he helped to turn around the school system, and that his leadership left the system in better shape. Vallas claimed that the Chicago Public Schools were healthier under his leadership than then were in 2019. PolitiFact rated this claim as "mostly true".
As a candidate, Vallas pledged to combat political corruption in Chicago's City Hall.
Vallas' campaign sent unsolicited text messages. The campaign employed North Carolina-based firm Link2Tek to accomplish this. In mid-January, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the Vallas campaign, alleging that it had violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which prohibits calling or texting a person using an automatic telephone dialing system without their consent. Vallas accused the lawsuit of being, "a dirty trick" orchestrated by the "political machine".
In the first round of the election, Vallas placed ninth out of fourteen candidates, receiving 30,236 votes. Failing to advance to the runoff, Vallas endorsed Lori Lightfoot.