UNO BOSS RESIGNS
Only 31⁄2 months after he joined the scandal-scarred United Neighborhood Organization, businessman Martin Cabrera Jr. abruptly resigned Friday as UNO’s board chairman.
Officials of UNO, the state’s largest charter-school operator, had announced Cabrera’s appointment as part of a complete board overhaul in late May, after Gov. Pat Quinn suspended the politically connected group’s $98 million school-construction grant.
The suspension followed Chicago Sun-Times reports that $8.5 million of the state funding went to companies owned by two brothers of Miguel d’Escoto, a top UNO executive.
Citing Cabrera’s appointment as a reform measure, Quinn restored funding to UNO in June, which allowed the group to complete construction of a new high school on the Southwest Side.
But Cabrera told the SunTimes that he quit “because of a difference of philosophy and mission.” He declined to elaborate.
Another of UNO’s six rookie board members also stepped down Friday. Joseph de Lopez, a former Winnetka police chief and Chicago Police deputy superintendent, joined the UNO board at the same time as Cabrera.
Cabrera had replaced longtime UNO leader Juan Rangel as the board chairman, which is an unpaid position. Rangel remained as the group’s chief executive, a position that pays $250,000 a year.
At the time of his appointment, Cabrera said there was “no one more suitable to be CEO” than Rangel.
Rangel — who was Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2011 campaign co-chairman — did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
In a statement late Friday, UNO officials reacted to the resignations “with reluctance but respect.”
“In recent weeks, it had become clear that we had divergent views of UNO’s future direction,” UNO officials said.
UNO’s 16th school, the state-funded UNO Soccer Academy High School, is scheduled to open Monday at 5025 S. St. Louis Ave. In addition to the state grant, UNO receives tens of millions of dollars a year from the Chicago Public Schools.
As UNO’s charter-school network has grown, so has its political clout. Besides Emanuel, Rangel also has forged close ties to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Ald. Edward Burke (14th).
Cabrera, 42, is the chief executive officer of Cabrera Capital Markets, which has worked on bond deals for City Hall and other government agencies for more than a decade.
Emanuel picked Cabrera to be chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission in early 2012, and he has served on the city-county board that directs the construction of schools and other public buildings since 2011.
“I wish UNO much success as they take on the important challenge of educating our Latino youth,” Cabrera said.