By George N. Schmidt

Although many community leaders speak of a “big business cabinet” that has been running the Board of Education behind the scenes since Renaissance 2010 began officially in June and July 2004, the direct work of bankers within Arne Duncan’s cabinet has been an open secret. Former Bank One and Board of Trade Executive David Vitale ( left, at the March 23, 2005 board meeting) has been in power within the Duncan administration for more than two years.

Vitale and Duncan smiled at the February 3, 2003 press conference (above right) at which Vitale’s appointment was announced. Vitale was appointed by Duncan in February 2003, as a “senior advisor.” Vitale’s title shifted over time to “Chief Administrative Officer,” the position he now holds. Media attention to Vitale was great at the time of his original appointment in early 2003 because he had come to the school board directly from his post as CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade and agreed to work at the school board for $1 per year.

At the time of Vitale’s appointment, Duncan was quoted as saying: “Having Dave Vitale on our team is a huge benefit… He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the business community…”  Board President Michael Scott was quoted in a school board press release as saying: “The school system has never had a business leader of Dave’s stature to come here on a full-time, pro-bono basis to offer his insights, his ideas and his network of relationships…” According to the school board, Vitale’s qualifications to oversee the school system’s administration include the fact that he had been president and CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade and vice chairman and director of Bank One, where “he was responsible for commercial banking, real estate, and private banking.” Like Duncan and many of his Hyde Park neighbors, Vitale is a Pinochetist in economic philosophy. (Substance photos by George N. Schmidt.)