Vallas to run for lieutenant governor in Illinois

Bridgeport’s man of controversy, Paul Vallas, will seek election in 2014 as Illinois’ lieutenant governor, alongside  Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat. Vallas, superintendent of Bridgeport schools, previously  served as the CEO of Chicago’s schools from 1995 until 2001.

With his position in Bridgeport in question for months, Vallas will be stepping down from his post. But not immediately. He plans to help the newly elected board of directors search for his replacement.

“Departing the Bridgeport Public Schools is not an easy decision, but I am completely aware that the new board, elected just this week by Bridgeport voters to guide the system in coming years, has a desire to work with a superintendent of its own choosing,” Vallas said in a statement. “Having the ability to make that choice will unify the board and give it greater investment in the new superintendent’s success.”

Hired roughly two years ago to turn around Bridgeport’s schools, Vallas has closed the district”™s $12 million budget deficit, increased school funding, created plans to open five new schools and purchased laptops and new textbooks. But he hasn’t done so without criticism.

Individuals from the Connecticut Working Families Party, which have organized the lead campaign to kick Vallas out of his position, have even accused him of corruption. They say he”™s failed to turnaround schools in his previous roles and is trying to privatize the system to generate profits for a select few.

Vallas has denied the party’s claims while still trying to hold on to his position as a change agent.

In a statement Quinn said Vallas had a proven record of reform and that in the 30 years he’s known him he’s “never been shy about fighting for education, reform and opportunities for working people.”