The making of a martyr
Attempt to remove Arwardy quietly blew up in the mayor's face
Mayor Brandon Johnson tried a time-tested move last Friday, and quickly learned the time was wrong for such a ploy. Johnson was obviously hoping the nomination of the new CPD superintendent would overshadow the fact he fired Dr. Allison Arwardy, commissioner of the Chicago Health Department, just two days earlier.
As it turned out, news outlets and social media devoted more time and space to the firing than to the nomination of Deputy Chief Larry Snelling to lead the Chicago Police Department.
Gauche, classless, or unprofessional-regardless of which description one uses, it fits. Rather than pulling the trigger on the termination and notifying Arwardy, Johnson delegated the task to one of his minions. He didn’t give her the benefit to present her case face-to-face to the mayor as to why she should be retained. Johnson could have, but obviously refused the diplomatic route by letting Arwardy resign since he was hellbent on getting rid of her. In most non-union governmental and C-Suite scenarios, top ranking individuals sign an undated letter of resignation at the time of their hiring. It is agreed that whenever the top executive asks for that employee’s signature, the individual will sign it. Additionally, Johnson ordered that the termination begin immediately; and the doctor who steered the city through the pandemic was not allowed to inform her team they had worked together probably for the last time.
Apparently, Arwardy was not given such an opportunity. Johnson’s move can only be interpreted that he wanted to flex his power, not only to remove Arwardy, but also defy her supporters.
News had surfaced the day before her firing that the majority of public health commission members had signed a letter to be forwarded to be forwarded to Johnson asking him to retain the commissioner. The firing was a way to snub his nose at the doctors and public health official who comprise the commission. The mayor ignored the medical expertise they bring in favor of his union organizing background.
We see that Johnson’s political antenna is still in need of tuning, as his action put him at odds with one of the commission members who pastors a Chicago megachurch. Johnson or at least one of his advisors had to know there would be blowback. Congregants are fiercely loyal to their pastors and seeing his message so crassly disregarded is likely to spell trouble for Johnson in the future-especially if he seeks another term
Little support for Johnson’s decision was found on social media. His action ranged from name calling to one post declaring “Dr. Arwardy should never have to buy a meal or a drink in the city again.” There was a much praise for her work as their was disdain for Johnson’s move.
Johnson didn’t help his case when during a Monday news conference, he misquoted the late rapper Tupac Shakur when he said “you can’t always go by the things that you hear. Right? Real eyes realize real lies.” Actually, Shakur rapped “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
It was a double gaffe as there is only a certain demographic who would recognize the Shakur quote. More than one anchor or reporter on the local evening news admitted they didn’t understand what Johnson was attempting to convey. Johnson’s top aides should insist he go by whatever script they prepare for him. Just about every month since his campaign started we have witnessed him stick his foot in his mouth or walk back comments.
As the consummate professional she is known to be Arwardy, in a television interview with NBC Chicago said she doesn’t really care about the reasoning for her firing as she believes her decisions were sound and based on data.
During the pandemic there was a dispute between Johnson’s benefactors-Chicago Teachers Union and Arwardy about returning CPS students to the classroom. The teachers wanted the students to stay out of school longer
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Arwardy noted “So, I believe always in looking at what the data shows us and we had a natural experiment here in Chicago where the largest parochial system in the country, the Archdiocese of Chicago, was open for a semester when Chicago Public Schools were not.
“We also had the opportunity to watch around the country where many, many schools were in fact opened. And I had a dedicated team from the earliest days of COVID dedicated to youth, because we knew this was going to be a challenge. We looked at the data at what was happening in daycares and school camps and all the other places children were still getting care, and we saw that there was not an increased risk to children or to teachers for being in school,” Arwardy, a pediatrician added
The philosophical divide between CTU and Arwardy led Johnson to blast on the campaign trail that if elected Arwardy would lose her job. As CTU pumped millions into his campaign coffers and dispatched thousands of members to go door-to-door for Johnson he essentially had to do the union’s bidding-making him a wholly-owned subsidiary of CTU, as he seems to be having trouble distinguishing what is best for the union instead of what is best for the city and its residents.