Forrest Claypool facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Forrest Claypool
Claypool in 2009
CEO of Chicago Public Schools
In office July 27, 2015 – December 8, 2017
Appointed by	Rahm Emanuel
Preceded by	Barbara Byrd-Bennett Jesse Ruiz (interim)
Succeeded by	Janice K. Jackson
President of the Chicago Transit Authority
In office 2011–2015
Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 12th district
In office December 2002 (2002-December) – December 2010 (2010-December)
Preceded by	Ted Lechowicz
Succeeded by	John Fritchey
Personal details
Born	Forrest Edward Claypool 1958 (age 66–67) Vandalia, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Has a wife
Children	Three
Residence	Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater	Southern Illinois University (B.A.) University of Illinois (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney
Signature

Forrest Edward Claypool is an American politician. He has held many important jobs in the governments of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois. From 2015 to 2017, he was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chicago Public Schools.

Before that, Claypool was the President of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). He also worked as the Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He is a lawyer and lives in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Claypool is married and has three children.

Forrest Claypool's Early Life and Education

Forrest Claypool was born in Vandalia, Illinois in 1958. He grew up in a nearby town called St. Elmo, Illinois. He earned his first college degree, a bachelor's degree, from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

In 1981, he graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law with a J.D. degree. A J.D. is a law degree that allows someone to practice law. While there, he was an editor for the school's law review, which is a journal that publishes articles about legal topics. After law school, Claypool worked as a lawyer. He also held several government jobs that were not elected positions. These included working for the Cook County Board of Appeals and as Deputy State Treasurer.

In 1984, he helped his friend David Axelrod start a political consulting company. Claypool was a managing partner at this company until 1989. Then, he left to work for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Improving Chicago's Parks

In 1989, Claypool started working for Mayor Daley as his first Chief of Staff. This role meant he helped manage the mayor's office. In 1993, Mayor Daley asked Claypool to lead the Chicago Park District. The Park District was facing problems at the time.

Making Parks Better and Saving Money

When Claypool became the CEO and Superintendent of the Chicago Park District, it had a large budget and many employees. However, some basic services were not being done well. Under Claypool's leadership, many jobs that were given out for political reasons were removed. Many employees also had to reapply for their positions. By 1996, the number of full-time employees had decreased, but park services had improved.

The Park District also had financial problems when Claypool took over. For example, they had spent a lot of money on improvements but did not have enough cash. They had also borrowed as much money as they were allowed. To fix this, Claypool saved money by reducing staff and canceling projects he thought were wasteful. He also started to have private companies do some of the park district's work instead of the district doing it itself.

For example, a company took over running the district's golf courses and driving ranges. This change helped the district make a profit from golf courses, which had lost money before. The Park District also tried having private companies help manage Soldier Field, a large stadium. In 1994, Soldier Field made a profit for the first time.

Claypool left the Park District in 1996 to work as Chief of Staff for Mayor Daley again. In 1998, he managed Mayor Daley's successful re-election campaign. Mayor Daley won by a large amount, getting more than 75% of the votes.

Working for Cook County

In 2002, Claypool decided to run for a seat on the Cook County Board. He presented himself as a "reformer." This meant he wanted to change things and make the government better. He ran a strong campaign, criticizing what he saw as too many jobs given for political favors and too much bureaucracy in the county government.

Fighting for Change in County Government

Claypool won against the person who was already in office, Ted Lechowicz. This was a surprise victory. Because Claypool's district was mostly Democratic, he easily won the main election. Claypool quickly teamed up with other new commissioners, Larry Suffredin and Tony Peraica, and another commissioner, Mike Quigley.

In 2003, these four commissioners got enough votes to stop the county president's budget plan. This was the first time this had happened in 30 years. The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper even ran a headline saying, "Hell Freezes Over: Cook County Board rejects Stroger's budget." The next year, the County Board again rejected tax increases proposed by the county president.

Running for County Board President

In 2006, Claypool announced he would run for the Democratic nomination to be the County Board President. The person currently in office, John Stroger, also wanted to run again. Another commissioner, Mike Quigley, first planned to run but then decided to support Claypool instead.

Claypool raised more money for his campaign than any other candidate in 2005. Many experts believed that the Democratic primary election was the most important one. This is because Cook County is a very Democratic area. Claypool received support from many newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. He was also supported by Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.

Even with all this support, Claypool lost the primary election to John Stroger. This happened even though Stroger had a stroke a week before the election. The Cook County Democratic Party then chose Stroger's son, Todd Stroger, to run in the main election. Todd Stroger won. Claypool did not support Todd Stroger, and many Democratic politicians criticized him for this.

Running for County Assessor

On April 6, 2010, Forrest Claypool announced he would run for the Cook County Assessor position. He ran as an independent candidate, meaning he was not part of a major political party. He was the first independent candidate to run for this office in Cook County history.

Claypool officially qualified for the ballot after collecting many voter signatures. He ran against Democrat Joseph Berrios, Green Party candidate Robert Grota, and Republican Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall. Joseph Berrios won the election.

Later Government Work

On April 19, 2011, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Claypool to be the president of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Emanuel and Claypool had been political allies for a long time. In April 2015, Claypool was named Chief of Staff to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Leading Chicago Public Schools

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on July 16, 2015, that Claypool would become the chief executive officer (CEO) of Chicago Public Schools. He started this job on July 27, 2015. The Chicago Board of Education formally approved his appointment a few days earlier. Claypool resigned from his role as CEO on December 8, 2017.