Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday called for Rev. Mitchell Johnson to resign from his position as Chicago Board of Education president, saying Rev. Johnson has “failed to live up to” the values of “kindness and inclusivity” that an education leader needs to exhibit. 

“Any person charged with the stewardship of the Chicago Public School Board must exemplify focused, inclusive and steady leadership. The views expressed in the current Chair’s posts — antisemitism, misogyny, fringe conspiracy theories — very clearly do not meet that standard,” Pritzker said in a statement shared with NBC5 Chicago. “I believe it is in the best interest of our schools and our children for the Chair to resign.” 

Pritzker’s statement comes two days after a Jewish Insider report revealed Rev. Johnson to have posted dozens of inflammatory antisemitic, anti-Israel and pro-Hamas social media messages on Facebook in the year after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks. On Thursday, additional reporting showed that Rev. Johnson had also shared content calling the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks an “inside job” and that he posted a quote denigrating women.  

More than 40 Chicago City Council members also called for Rev. Johnson to resign from his position as of Thursday afternoon, a supermajority of the 50-person body, as did the Chicago City Clerk and the City Treasurer. The editorial board of The Chicago Tribune also called for Rev. Johnson to resign. 

But the position is appointed by the mayor, and Mayor Brandon Johnson stood by Rev. Johnson (no relation) in a Wednesday night press conference. 

Rev. Johnson “has expressed sorrow and is seeking atonement for the words that he has shared,” Mayor Johnson said on Wednesday. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday about whether he would join Gov. Pritzker in seeking Rev. Johnson’s resignation. 

In a public statement on Wednesday, Rev. Johnson apologized for his “reactive and insensitive” remarks and for not being “more precise and deliberate” in his writings. 

In his statement, he said he had “asked for and received feedback from my Jewish friends and colleagues.” But the Anti-Defamation League’s regional office said they did not know of any Jewish organizations in the Chicago area who heard from Rev. Johnson, who overstated his ties to the Jewish community in the statement.

“Whether it was rooting out antisemitism directly at AEPi Alpha Epsilon Pi or fighting for investments in the far south side at Developing Communities Project (DCP), those experiencing injustice and discrimination have no greater friend than they have in me,” Rev. Johnson wrote. He also said in his official Board of Education biography that he worked as a consultant for AEPi. 

But an AEPi spokesperson said that’s not true and called for Rev. Johnson to step down from the position. 

“Reverend Johnson is misrepresenting his relationship with Alpha Epsilon Pi … He has never been employed by or volunteered for Alpha Epsilon Pi,” incoming AEPi chief communications officer Jon Pierce said on Thursday. “As an organization committed to developing the future leaders of the Jewish community, we are strongly opposed to the antisemitic thoughts and language used by Reverend Johnson and urge Chicago Mayor Johnson to remove him from the Board of Education as he is an abhorrent role model for children.”

Rev. Johnson did not respond to several requests for comment from JI.