Mayor Brandon Johnson's chickenshit dismissal of Dr. Arwady

Pardon my language, but the Friday evening firing of the city's health commissioner was infamous and ominous

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

Mayor Johnson is down, in my estimation, because …

Credit the Sun-Times with a clever front-page headline in Saturday’s paper and the Tribune with a front-page headline that contextualized the outrage (and with using a more flattering photo of the ousted health commissioner).

Mayor Johnson announced Arwady’s dismissal late Friday afternoon, when businesses and bureaucracies of all sorts like to dump potentially controversial news, hoping that the weekend will mute public response.

And, as the Tribune’s headline hinted, the firing occurred just one day after the Chicago Board of Health advisory panel released a letter to Johnson calling Arwady “a consummate public health professional who guided the city’s response to the COVID pandemic and has worked tirelessly and diligently with her team to transform the way in which the City of Chicago approaches mental and behavioral health as well as threats to physical health and well-being.”

A lot of us in Chicago admired Arwady’s steady, friendly, matter-of-fact presence at the podium during COVID-19 news conferences and had confidence in her based on her impressive resume —a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, medical degree from Yale University; stints with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health. She was steady and her decisions felt guided by the best available epidemiological information and not ideology.

Johnson announced without explanation during a March 30 mayoral debate with rival Paul Vallas that he planned to fire Arwardy because they have “different views” on public health? What was Johnson’s beef ? The Sun-Times summarized the main rub this way:

Arwady enraged the teachers’ union with her plans to send CPS students back to class during the pandemic. … Arwady acknowledges the rift with the teachers union, calling them “differences of opinion.”

It was a difficult time and the decisions Arwady had to make were not easy. That she didn’t bend the knee to the judgment of the CTU surely stuck in Johnson’s craw at the time, when he was a lobbyist for the union. But then he became mayor and needed a clean craw.

After his election, he had this exchange about Arwardy with WGN-AM 720 host John Williams:

BJ: There was clearly a difference of an ideological frame. I do want to have a conversation with Dr. Arwady. That was a very difficult time for everyone. And I know, those were not easy decisions for Dr. Arwady to make. And there are some clear differences there.

JW: I've heard you say that, but what did Dr. Arwady do wrong or the city do wrong about our COVID response?

BJ: It's not whether or not she did something wrong or not. This is about how we actually get stuff done in a collaborative way. And as I've said, you know, I'm happy to continue to have conversations with people who have been a part of Mayor Lightfoot's administration. And I don't think it's a secret that during the reopening portion of the Chicago Public Schools, that there was a rub there, that has to be addressed. … There was a rub there. … What I'm saying is that it's important that I have a better understanding, because as of now, that there are some differences.

And this is what he said to WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel after his election:

In order to unite this city, we’re going to need the expertise from all of the different disciplines. I’m looking forward to sitting down with Dr. Arwady. … Look, we went through a 100-year pandemic — it’s going to be important to have her expertise.

But did he have that conversation? Did he sit down with her?

No.

Is the new interim head of the health department even a medical doctor?

No.

All that is why I have labeled the mayor’s move “chickenshit,” a word the Tribune did not — could not— use in its excellent Monday editorial, “Brandon Johnson’s unconscionable treatment of Dr. Allison Arwady.”

As a city fell into panic, Arwady coolly and calmly delivered the facts about the virus in a variety of settings, avoiding judgment where possible and establishing herself as a figure who could be trusted, not just by her mayor but by everyday Chicagoans.

Then Johnson, who had said he had “different views” from her — as if the COVID crisis was all about views and opinions rather than scientific expertise and personal competence — became her boss. … It all boils down to Johnson’s allegiance to the CTU, which did all it could to fight Lightfoot and Arwady’s attempts to open the schools and get the city’s kids back in the classroom, alongside the city’s kids in private and parochial schools who were already back, as were children in the Chicago suburbs, in Europe and in many other U.S. states.

We know of no entity other than the CTU that actually believes Arwady should not have tried to reopen the schools when she did. On a national level, union leaders like Randi Weingarten now are trying to walk back their vehemence when it came to keeping schools closed. That’s because there is an abundance of data to suggest that Arwady and Lightfoot were right to push the union to get Chicago kids back in school, given the lack of evidence of widespread COVID classroom transmission. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that the price paid in learning loss was much too high. ..

Arwady was right about most things. Not only was (and is) she supremely qualified for this job, she deserved the keys to the city for all she did for Chicago during COVID-19.

Johnson deflected questions at a news conference Monday about his handling of the situation by serving up a big helping of word salad:

Mary Ann Ahern, NBC 5: ​ Could you clarify: Did you meet with (Dr. Arwady) in person? That is the understanding; that you did not. You often talk about collaboration and cooperation. That doesn't seem very collaborative. And folks are seeing that as an unprofessional way of letting someone go who had a very big job during ​C​OVID. And many do perceive her as a lifesaver.

​Mayor Brandon Johnson: Yeah, COVID was a very difficult time for the entire country, and it was a very hard job for everyone. And whether you ​w​ere a business owner or whether you were, you know, a child care provider​, it was difficult for all of us. And ​i​t created a great deal of stress. And what I have committed myself to do is to make sure that we have, ​again,  a very collaborative approach of how we assess all of our sister agencies and our departments. And we have done just that. And so decisions that will be made ultimately by me — I get full vetted ​— we have a full vetted process that gives me the ability to make a decision moving forward.

 MA: Let me follow up … was this payback from the CTU leadership because Dr . Arwady wanted schools to open during COVID?

MBJ: Every single administration has to be prepared for transition. And my administration is no different in that regard. Transition is difficult. For everyone. But as has already been articulated— I don’t know how many times you’re allowed to quote Tupac in a press conference — but you can’t always go by the things that you hear. “Real eyes realize real lies.” That’s also Tupac Shakur.

Real eyes realize real squirrelly incompetence.

The Sun-Times reported:

Arwady could not be reached for comment, but sources close to her claimed she was summoned to the office of Rich Guidice, Johnson’s chief of staff, shortly after 5 p.m. Friday and told it was her last day on the job. Those same sources said she had no opportunity to say goodbye to the staff members who served as her loyal soldiers during the pandemic.

A Sun-Times editorial in Tuesday’s newspaper calls the firing a "bad misstep.”

How a boss treats employees matters. When that boss is the mayor, the public is watching, as are other professionals who might be candidates for a top city job. The smart move, absent wrongdoing or incompetence, is to let a top leader make a graceful exit. Instead, Johnson apparently sent his chief of staff to fire Arwady, who guided our city through three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 5 p.m. last Friday, without letting her tell her staff goodbye or even send an email.

As one veteran City Hall observer told us, “I’ve never seen anything like it,” and they didn’t mean that in a good way.

What’s worse, in this case, is the appearance of petty payback on behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union, which clashed with Arwady over a return to in-person schooling amid the pandemic. Johnson, who owes his mayoral win largely to the CTU, was asked about the “payback” issue on Monday — and deflected it with a quote from Tupac Shakur rather than addressing the matter head-on.

During the campaign, Johnson’s statements about Arwardy were among those that gave me significant concerns about his capacity to transcend his activist roots and be a unifying leader executing a plausible vision for all Chicago. That he had not fired her in the nearly three months since his inauguration had given me hope that I’d misjudged him.

That he fired her and the cruel, sloppy, dishonest way he went about it strongly suggests that I had not.

Notes and comments from readers —lightly edited —- along with my responses

Marty G. — I don't see Robert Crimo Jr., the father of the alleged Highland Park shooter, being held legally responsible for helping his son buy a gun when the son was under 21 given that the shooting took place after the son became an adult. But morally? In helping his underaged son buy a firearm he put his desire to make his son happy over his responsibility as a citizen. That’s reprehensible.

Zorn — Agreed. The father’s poor judgment was outrageous and tragic, though I doubt it will be ruled illegal. The cold-comfort justice for the victims and their families may end up in the form of a civil court verdict or settlement.

Shelly R. — I’m a paid subscriber to the Picayune Sentinel and would like to invite friends to subscribe, but I don’t see a link on your newsletter.

Zorn — Thanks to you and all paying subscribers who keep this enterprise afloat. There are some “share” buttons on the page — I’ll post one below this paragraph — which invite you to copy the link and email it to someone who might want to subscribe. You can also email me directly and I will add addresses manually to the mailing list.

James Mc — I noticed Neil Steinberg dropped a "Joe Shlabotnik" reference in his column about the Sun-Times cutting his Biden/Trump remark. I am genuinely curious how many people who read that column know who Joe Shlabotnik is. I'm guessing no one under the age of 50 does.

Zorn — I’m guessing a few do. I’ll put the answer to the question along with my reason for thinking some younger folks do know at the end of Zmail. Meanwhile, reader, please check the answer that applies to you:

Scroll down if you don’t know the answer.

Marc M. — Gov. JB Pritzker had no problem promoting the people's right to vote on the progressive tax amendment in 2020, yet he has refused to promote that same right to vote on amending the pension clause or enacting independent redistricting, something he promised to support during his campaign. In fact, he was happy to help the legislators prevent even advisory referendums from getting on the ballot. Is it any wonder people don't trust politicians?

It’s not a wonder at all. But the hypocrisy about direct democracy is bipartisan.

Jo A. — I certainly admire the dedication of Randy Garrett, the recently deceased citizen investigator who doggedly searched out the truth about who killed Jeanine Nicarico in 1983, but the true hero in correcting miscarriage of justice was Mary Brigid Kenney the young assistant attorney general who resigned when her first assignment was to work to uphold Rolando Cruz’s conviction. She went public with her contention that Cruz was innocent. As a new attorney myself, I was grateful that my commercial practice would never put me into the moral quandary that Kenney faced. I don’t know that I would have had her bravery.

Zorn – Yes, Mary Brigid Kenney (now Hayes) was a hero. So were all the attorneys who volunteered their time to work on behalf of Cruz and Alex Hernandez, as well as law enforcement officials willing to tell the truth.

Umbrage at crackers?

David L.— The readership here generally occupies the left side of the political spectrum with some closer to the middle and some further left. For that reason, I sincerely would like to hear the liberal take on this.

One of the visual tweets last week relied on the word "cracker," and the definition of cracker is that it is a racial slur directed at white people.

How is that any different than a racial slur directed at blacks, Hispanics, Asians and so on? If you find this acceptable, can you explain the rationale for this explicit double standard? I would like to think that we would all be of a common mindset to avoid all use of racial or ethnic slurs.

Zorn — There is certainly a hierarchy of disrespectful terms for different groups of people. They range from gentle regional mockery, such as “Cheeseheads” for Wisconsinites, to the most toxic of racial slurs. They are not all equally offensive because they don’t carry the same sting and are not similarly associated with discrimination, oppression and hatred. As Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker put it in 2013,

"Cracker” has never been used routinely to:

●Deny a white person a seat at a lunch counter.

●Systematically deny whites the right to vote.

●Deny a white person a seat near the front of a bus.

●Crack the skulls of peaceful white protesters marching for equality.

●Blow up a church and kill four little white girls.

“Cracker” is a mildly disrespectful term for southern or rural white people that has never had much power because it carries very little sting and has almost no cultural baggage. Getting offended by “cracker” is kind of like getting offended because there is no white history month. I mean, c’mon.

J.G.— If you post on X, are you still tweeting?

As far as I’m concerned, “tweeting” has become a generic term for posting to any micro-blogging social media site — akin to “quipping” — and I’m planning to be an unreconstructed user of that term.

*The fictional, utterly mediocre Major League Baseballer Joe Shlabotnik was the favorite player of Charlie Brown in the “Peanuts” comic strip, which is still in reruns in the Tribune even though creator Charles Schulz died in 2000.

Ya gotta see these tweets!

Here are some funny visual images I've come across recently on social media. Enjoy, then evaluate:

Vote for your favorite. I will disqualify any tweets I later find out used digitally altered photos to make the joke. I’ll share the winner in Thursday’s main edition.

Meanwhile, I’m badly in need of visual tweet nominees as I’ve now exhausted my backlog! Looking for social media jokes that require a visual element — can be from any source and let me know if you can identify that source. Email me!

There’s still time to vote in the conventional Tweet of the Week poll!

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