As Thanksgiving bombshells go, Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool’s letter of apology regarding his role in “invoicegate” isn’t anywhere near as explosive as the release of the Laquan McDonald video.
In 2016, Claypool, Emanuel, and Ronald Marmer, the chief lawyer for CPS, decided to sue the state on the grounds that its funding formula discriminated against low-income black and Latino kids in Chicago.
Claypool seemingly was still determined to hire Jenner & Block. So he went looking for someone who could help him out.
It’s been a contentious investigation. Last December, Schuler publicly accused CPS officials of stonewalling his efforts. In late October, the two sat down to discuss the matter. Schuler asked Claypool if he’d changed the description of Franzcek’s invoice for services rendered.
OK, let’s unpack this sucker. First, how does anyone forget asking for changes in an invoice, particularly changes that obscure the nature of the invoice by making its language “less specific”? Second, if Claypool thinks a lawyer who represents CPS isn’t going to charge for his opinion on a CPS matter, he doesn’t know much about lawyers despite being one. Third, if Claypool expects to pay only for legal advice he wants to hear, he might as well hire himself—and you know what Lincoln says about that. (“He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”)
As I recall, Mayor Rahm also claimed he was looking out for the kids when he closed those 50 schools in 2013.
