>> All eyes have been on Chicago Public schools this week.

A quick recap.

Mayor Brighton Johnson named his new picks for the school board after the entire seven-person board announced their resignation.

This as tensions are still flaring between the mayor and CPS, CEO who he wants out and maybe the most pressing question.

How will the city's solve the district's financial crisis?

And joining us here to tell us more is Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief of staff, Christine, up a C on science.

Thank you for taking the time for being here.

So I want to start.

We had Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday show where he maintained that those who oppose his vision also pose progress.

Let's take a listen.

>> Once upon a time black children was stuffed in Willis wagons because the school district refused to invest in them once upon a time, you know, we had black teachers in particular, black women overwhelmingly have been laid off.

That's what's being proposed right now.

The people who oppose my vision, the vision that the people of Chicago voted for.

They want to take us back to cuts and closures and privatization.

>> And as a state senator, you push for more state funds for education.

Why hasn't the mayor's office been able to convince state lawmakers and the governor to help Chicago Bridge the gap?

Well, I would actually have to say that we've been working closely with the governor's office, our financial team, as well as the governor's office financial team.

>> Are in close communication and coordination looking at not just a situation where we're bailing out CPS and we're bailing out Chicago.

We have some structural issues that we have to address.

Covid dollars are expiring.

We have a diminishing returns on revenues such as the personal property replacement tax.

And that's because Trump had lifted the caps and corporations are able to write off more and not put money into the this the revenue stream, which is basically now creating the deficit that we have for 2024 and some of the forecast of 2025, these 2 teams are working on strategies that will assist all municipalities across the city to deal with both of these issues.

as we also will see, Omar Co Martinez spoke with our colleague friend is Freeman last night.

He detail some of the private conversations between himself >> and the mayor.

Let's take a look at them.

>> We were very disappointed by this that we got back was even though the South we can make any more cuts.

You may know the cause you can make.

You should really think about because eventually borrow and we took the position of okay.

Maybe they don't understand the history or the risks.

The CPS has some borrowing because we went through this path before back in the years of 15, 16 17, the district took out 2 billion in loans and refinancing means and today man is in my deficit.

I am paying 194 million dollars and interest-only payments.

So we put that in the memo.

Sure they would share with the mayor even share with privately that really didn't feel he was getting the best counsel.

He listened came back, so insistent on the lawn.

My board said we cannot.

>> Now is it possible for the city to use more than 30300 million in funds which are now reserved for tips to fail.

Cps, budget deficit.

So the mayor and the CEO did have a conversation about tips or place.

There was always a commitment.

>> To meet that obligation per statute with that have surplus, though, what we also have to understand those dollars also go back into other taxing body, such as the parks such as the libraries, city colleges and in this whole budget cycle, we are working out the analysis to figure out how much actually can go and to the school budget.

But I think what's important to note is that the budget that was passed back in July did not include all of the expenses that CPS actually has to account for.

That is inclusive of settling the contract with teachers and sell it, settling the contract with principals.

This is the first year that principals are actually collectively bargaining.

I actually participated in the process of establishing that particular bill.

They also didn't include a pension payment for the employees that are non teachers.

So what was presented in July was not even a full picture yet in past budgets, we have been able to get CPS to make a commitment towards their pension payments, which they should because as they move into an independent school district, they have 2 independent.

We cover the costs of their expenses.

No other sister agency expects the city to pay for their pensions.

And yet in this particular case, CPS just seems there's just so many layers.

So many opinions.

I have to ask if the nicest pushed out.

>> What's the likelihood you'll be considered for the job?

No, I'm the chief of staff to the mayor.

I'm not going anywhere.

>> Would you do something differently in that role?

You were considered for job?

The advice I would give any CEO is to adapt and to effectuate the vision that the mayor has laid out.

I think the mayor coming from Chicago, Public schools as an educator, both in middle school and high school as a parent who has children in those schools as an organizer who constantly fought for full funding for schools, who better to be articulating the vision and enforcing that it needs to actually manifest.

I think he knows the visceral reaction when you go into a school and you are asked to literally make lemonade out of lemons.

I think he knows when he dropped his children off at school and how he has to take his kids all the way to the South side to get the types of resources that he wishes they could afford on the West side.

But they're not available.

And so those types of things are not radical.

All we want to make sure is that young people and children are wrapped around able to live up to their fullest potential in the adults around them have what they need to do that.

You know, this seems very complicated.

But for parents who are watching right now in seen this public rift with Pete with CPS, would he want to tell?

Parents were trying to understand?

>> I think the vision of the mayor's simple.

All right.

We want to transform the Chicago public school system for too long.

We have been living in chaos for too long.

We have accepted subpar standards for too long.

We have adopted.

>> Status quo which is closing 50 schools.

We have allowed previous appointed boards to do a no-bid contract for a former employer of the CEO.

We have allowed the books to be cooked in terms of graduation rates.

We have privatized services and paid more money but receive less quality.

Olive that is disruption and chaos.

I can tell you I have 2 children in Chicago, Public Schools, one in a neighborhood school won a magnet school.

>> I walked to my son to school every day this week.

There was no chaos.

There was no disruption.

Teachers were teaching support.

Staff were wrapping around.

My principal assured us that he was there as the instructional leader, our local school councils are making sure that our schools are following their school improvement plans.

This is really about transformation.

And we're at a turning point in the mayor is not afraid to make those decisions.

And, you know, we only have a couple seconds behind.

Would you say to those parents, again, how is this tome turmoil going to affect their school or or their child?

Day-to-day operations have not been affected.

I actually served on the state Board of Education.

And when you are a board member, you are making policy decisions at a 30,000 foot level.

And what I can tell you is that day-to-day operations are functioning and this site based management teams, your local school councils really have the deepest impact on how those schools are run.

Plus the principles and as I said, principles are showing up.

Everyday teachers are showing up every day.

Children are learning.

Let us work out