Mayor Lightfoot appeared to try recruiting CPS students to help with re-election for extra credit
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot's campaign is responding to criticism after they tried to recruit Chicago Public Schools students to help with her reelection effort in exchange for class credit.
ABC7 Chicago obtained an email sent by Lightfoot's deputy campaign manager Tuesday to an unknown number of teachers. It asks them to "please share this opportunity" with their students about an "externship program."
It goes on to say that they're looking for "enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring."
RELATED: Chicago mayor election: 8 candidates participate in forum at Copernicus Center
Backlash to the move has been swift.
Lightfoot's team is now calling this a "common practice" and learning opportunity that's been offered by campaigns for decades.
However, their statement also says that "campaign staff have been reminded about the solid wall that must exist between campaign and official activities. And that contacts with any city of Chicago, or other sister agency employees, including CPS employees, even through publicly available sources is off limits."
ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington says this is an indefensible and obvious ethical misstep.
"There doesn't seem to be any intent to do wrongdoing here but it was certainly inappropriate," Washington said. "You don't ever mix politics with government. You don't ever ask a government agency that you oversee to get involved in your political campaign."
Joe Ferguson, Chicago's former inspector general, tweeted "This is deeply, deeply problematic.
The Lightfoot campaign is being called unethical by several critics, and several of the mayor's challengers are speaking out against the move.
That includes Congressman "Chuy" García, who tweeted, in part, that "this is deeply problematic."
Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, who was the former head of CPS is going a step further, saying, "Accountability demands an independent inquiry in the form of a joint City and CPS Inspector General investigation."
"You need to answer the questions: Did my campaign know it? Was I aware of it? Am I gonna take action against those who clearly violated the ethical standards....of both the city as well as the school district," Vallas said.
The Chicago Teacher's Union is calling the email Lightfoot's "latest ethical failure."
The CTU said Chicago doesn't deserve this kind of appalling mis-leadership.
