Gery Chico | |
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Chico at a mayoral debate held in the DuSable Museum of African American History |
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Born | August 24, 1956 Chicago, Illinois |
Citizenship | United States |
Education | BA, University of Illinois at Chicago (1978) JD, Loyola University Chicago School of Law (1985) |
Occupation | Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education |
Political party | Democratic |
Gery Chico ( /ˈɡɛri ˈtʃiːkoʊ/ gerr-ee chee-koh; born August 24, 1956) is a Chicago lawyer, public official, former Democratic primary candidate for United States Senate, and former candidate for Mayor of Chicago. Chico served as the Chief of Staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley from 1992 to 1995, and board president of the Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001. He was named Outstanding School Board President by the Illinois State Board of Education in 1997. From 2007 to 2010, he was board president of the Chicago Park District, and in 2010 he was board president of the City Colleges of Chicago. On June 7, 2011, Chico was named Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
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Gery Chico was born on August 24, 1956,[1] to a Mexican-American father, Jesse, and a Greek-Lithuanian mother, Jacqueline (neé Kopulos). With his two younger brothers, he grew up in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood.[2] His mother also worked as a secretary at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.[3] Chico attended a now-closed parochial school, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Elementary School at 35th and Hermitage,[4] where he headed the altar boys and patrol boys, and also played baseball for two years. A hip injury kept him in a wheelchair during his freshman year at Thomas Kelly High School.[2]
Chico pursued a pre-medical degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, but after his sophomore year he transferred to the University of Illinois at Chicago.[5] A political science major, he volunteered in the 11th Ward. He later secured an externship in the city's Department of Planning during his senior year,[2] and he worked there from 1977 to 1980. He received his bachelor's degree in 1978. From 1980 to 1987, he worked for the City Council Finance Committee,[6] gradually moving up from research manager to senior research assistant for the Department of Planning and Economic Development.[7] At that time, he took night classes at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.[2] He earned his law degree in 1985 and became a member of the Loyola Law Review.[6]
Chico has been married twice; his first wife was Jeryl Minow, with whom he had three daughters. He is currently married to Sunny Pineda Chico, who has a son and daughter from a previous marriage.[2][3] A former U.S. Department of Education employee, Sunny runs a consulting firm that focuses on, among others, tutoring services and curriculum advice.[8]
Chico began working as an associate of the Chicago-based law firm Sidley Austin in 1987, and he also served as General Counsel to the Chicago Development Council, the city's largest real estate development association.[6] He left the firm in 1991 to become the Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley,[2] but he later returned as partner in 1995 and 1996, leading the firm's practice related to state and local government.
In 1996 Chico left Sidley & Austin to became a senior partner of Altheimer & Gray.[6] A Daley pal, Oscar D’Angelo, a former Altheimer partner disbarred for giving judges free rental cars from a client, Avis, suggested to the firm’s managing partner Norman Gold that he hire Chico. In 2000, just four years later, at age 44, Chico became chairman of Altheimer. In 2002, the firm redecorated and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Attorney General Lisa Madigan. In 2003, while Chico was chairman and simultaneously running for the US Senate, Altheimer became insolvent and dissolved.[9] Some partners blamed the bankruptcy on poor management by Chico, while an attorney who sat on two financial committees blamed an economic downturn.[2]
Chico also served as Special Counsel to Arnstein & Lehr in 2003 and 2004.[6]
In 2004, Chico, along with Planning Department colleague Marcus Nunes, formed the law firm Chico & Nunes,[2] which lobbies for clients seeking government business. Chico & Nunes, is a registered City Hall lobbyist for more than 40 companies, including large corporations such as Cisco Systems, Exelon Generation and Clear Channel. The firm has about a dozen lawyers, and city records show that five of them are registered as lobbyists. Chico made millions of dollars from his law firm that lobbies for clients seeking city business, according to three years of tax returns he released in 2010.[8]
Chico was appointed in 1991 as a Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley.[6] He coordinated efforts to drain freight tunnels that were flooded with water from the Chicago River.[10] Chico was later promoted to Chief of Staff, a position he held from 1992 to 1995.[6] As part of his duties, he oversaw the completion of the International Terminal of O'Hare International Airport, preparations for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the construction of new schools.[11] Along with Budget Director Paul Vallas, Chico helped add 1,000 officers to the police force and improved neighborhoods through a program called Neighborhoods Alive.[2]
In 1995, the Illinois state legislature passed the Chicago School Reform Act, which gave the Mayor of Chicago unprecedented new control over Chicago Public Schools (CPS).[12] Daley asked Chico to become the CEO, but Chico refused because he was resuming his law career. Chico instead recommended that Daley appoint colleague Paul Vallas as CEO, and Chico was named chairman of the School Reform Board of Trustees. City Hall insiders did not expect them to succeed, as Chico had many opponents from his time as the mayoral chief of staff and he had already suggested his intentions to succeed Mayor Daley. Vallas was also expected to eventually seek statewide office. However, during their administration test scores improved, the budget was balanced, and graduation rates rose. Then-President Bill Clinton hailed the school system as a national model, a decade after William Bennett, then U.S. Secretary of Education, had criticized it as the worst public school system in the nation.[13]
Tensions between Chico and Vallas began in 1998 after Vallas revoked an insurance contract over complaints that subcontractors were receiving unfair treatment. Chico had strong ties to the insurance broker and disagreed with the decision. The tensions grew as a private poll conducted in 1999 indicated that the public identified Vallas with school reform more than Chico. Chico resented this, even though his part-time role of presiding over monthly board meetings was dwarfed by the CEO's full-time employment. While chairmen, Chico's judgemnt was questioned after he hired a former journalist for a senior position on the Board of Education who had previously taken money from a politician that he had covered.[13]
Chico was also partly responsible for efforts to preserve and restore hundreds of murals in the public schools, which had been commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Progressive and New Deal eras. They had since been hidden under layers of dirt and paint.[14] Under his administration, CPS appointed an Arts Education Task Force and a Bureau of Cultural Arts.[15]
Many clients of Altheimer & Gray contracted with the school board, forcing Chico to abstain on hundreds of votes. The firm's clients received contracts that totaled $577 million during Chico's tenure, but Chico claims that those clients had received contracts before he arrived and still did afterwards.[3]
In 1997 Chico was named Outstanding School Board President by the Illinois State Board of Education for his reforms in education and fiscal policies.[16] While the schools saw a rise in test scores, they were criticized for becoming "test-prep mills". In 2001, a dip in test scores prompted Daley to consider appointing new management, and Chico resigned.[2]
In 2004, Chico ran for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald. He was the first Democrat to declare his candidacy, doing so on July 30, 2002, during a rally with Hispanic leaders.[17] Despite being well funded, the campaign ran out of money when it couldn't gain enough support and momentum.[18] Reports suggest that while donations to organizations such as the Springfield YWCA may have helped, the fall of Altheimer & Gray kept his support low.[19] Chico also may have overestimated Hispanic support.[18]
His Senate committee preferences included education, transportation, and foreign relations. He also criticized the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, but supported gay marriage,[3] abortion rights, stem cell research, the death penalty,[20] and universal healthcare.[21] Chico was the only candidate who supported gay marriage out of all seven Democrats and eight Republicans.[22] Then-State Senator Barack Obama ultimately won the nomination over six other candidates including Chico, who won only five percent of the vote.[23]
In October 2007, Mayor Daley appointed Chico as president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners.[6] The city was planning a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics; many of the proposed venues were on park land, so Chico faced the task of improving investments, planning parks, and upgrading facilities.[24][25] During his tenure, he supported the construction of a new soccer field in Lincoln Park despite opposition from local residents.[26] In 2010, he stepped down and was replaced by Bryan Traubert.[27]
In March 2010, Mayor Daley appointed Chico to the board of trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago and recommended that the board elect Chico president.[6] Along with Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, Chico reformed the City Colleges budget by laying off 225 employees, removing unfilled jobs, and reducing executive spending to increase spending on technology and training for students. Furthermore, Chico and Hyman reduced taxation on property for two straight years, repealed the system's "open-door" admissions policy, and cancelled nursing programs. He resigned 8 months later to run for Mayor of Chicago.[28]
On September 27, 2010, Chico announced that he would run for mayor of Chicago in 2011.[29] He was one of six candidates on the ballot. By January 31, 2011, Chico had raised $2.5 million in campaign funds.
Chico pledged to hire 2,000 police officers but did not offer specifics on how he would raise the funds.[30] He opposed making the school board an elected body, and he favored extending the school day and school year.[31] Chico picking up endorsements from unions that represented, among others, police officers, firefighters, laborers, painters, operating engineers, iron workers, roofers, and sheet metal workers.[32] If elected, Chico would have severed ties with his law firm, but he would not have prevented it from lobbying for clients seeking city contracts. His wife's consulting firm on education would not have been allowed to do business with city government.[8]
Rahm Emanuel was considered to be the leading candidate before the election. Chico, who had 19% support according to a February 10 poll, was considered "the rival with the best chance of forcing him into a runoff".[33] During the election on February 22, Emanuel's 55% support dwarfed Chico's 24% support.[34] Chico won in 10 of Chicago's 50 wards, while Emanuel won 40.[35] The campaign's communications director attributed the loss in part to Chico's focus on fundraising and resulting lack of time for media interviews. Furthermore, she claimed that controversy over Emanuel's eligibility to run for mayor may have diverted the focus of the press away from the other candidates.[36] After the election, Chico remained involved in the runoff elections for other city offices, endorsing a candidate for 25th Ward alderman.[37]
Chico was named chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education in June, 2011.[38] His confirmation was delayed as a result of questions regarding his ties to the Save-A-Life Foundation, "a charity that is undergoing a probe within Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office." [39]