Claypool resigns as Chicago Public Schools CEO

Forrest Claypool resigned his $250,000-a-year post as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools on Friday, three days after CPS' top internal investigator called for his firing for misconduct.

He will be replaced by Janice Jackson, CPS' chief education officer, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced at a news conference Friday at CPS headquarters downtown..

Appearing with Emanuel and others at CPS headquarters for the announcement Friday, Claypool said, "I'm experienced enough to know I have accomplished all I can accomplish here at CPS."

David Axelrod, a longtime political operative who is a close friend of both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Claypool, said the decision to resign was Claypool's alone.

"These are dynamic situations," Axelrod said. "And ultimately you have to judge what your ability to do your job effectively will be. And this is the judgment that he made."

The resignation of Claypool - a go-to guy for Emanuel who previously was his chief of staff and president of the Chicago Transit Authority and before that ran the Chicago Park District and was a Cook County Board member - came three days after CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler called for his firing for his conduct during an internal investigation of his top lawyer at CPS, Ronald Marmer.

In a 103-page report to the Chicago Board of Education made public Thursday, Schuler said Claypool "repeatedly lied" to Schuler's investigators and engaged in a "full-blown cover-up" during the investigation of Marmer for overseeing work for CPS done by his former law firm while he was receiving yearly $200,000 payments toward a $1 million severance.

• See the full report by the Chicago Sun-Times at chicago.suntimes.com.