Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot leans on teachers to recruit kid campaigners. Totally cool!

CHICAGO — As if trying to take all the cliches about crooked Chicago politics and distill them into one magically potent anecdote, Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection campaign decided it would be a fine idea to solicit public school students to help her win another term in office.

WTTW News reported that some Chicago Public Schools teachers on Wednesday received an email from Lightfoot’s campaign that read in part: “We’re simply looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring.”

In the email, the campaign proposed an “externship program” in which students would be expected to put in 12 hours a week helping the campaign and potentially earning “class credit.”

In a city that can call corruption 'on brand,' Lightfoot's move sounds about right

Leaning on public school teachers to recruit students to help a political campaign is what we at the Chicago Institute for Dodgy Politicking call “dodgy.” It’s not quite “Hey, teacher, nice classroom ya got there, be a shame if something happened to it,” but it certainly resides in that ballpark.

In a city known for political patronage and a ferociously powerful – and at times almost cartoonishly corrupt — Democratic machine, Lightfoot’s campaign has pulled off a stunt that’s a deep-dish pizza shy of Chicago perfection.

When you only have to update your statement twice, you know you've nailed it

Anyhoo, I’m sure the whole thing is 100% on the level, mainly because the Lightfoot campaign said so, three times. First the campaign released a statement saying, in essence, that the whole emailing teachers to recruit student volunteers is a thing every campaign has ever done throughout human history.

Then the campaign put out an updated statement saying even though what it did was totally cool and fun and educational, it would immediately stop doing it.

Then, finally, the campaign updated its updated statement to say it has reminded workers there’s a “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. Period.”

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

'Extra credit' in government corruption

The Chicago Tribune quoted a statement from one of Lightfoot’s many mayoral challengers, Alderman Roderick Sawyer, saying: “This is completely unethical, a hypocritical contradiction to her campaign promises of better government, and a disgraceful exploitation of public school students. I don’t know what kind of lesson Lightfoot believes she is teaching, but the extra credit must be in government corruption.”

C’mon, Roderick, political corruption is kinda what we do around here! Since the 1960s, Illinois has sent four of its governors to prison, and two others were prosecuted but acquitted. And since the 1970s, more than 30 Chicago aldermen (what I like to call “a Chicago dozen”) have either been convicted of or pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their time in office.

All Lightfoot’s campaign was doing by leveraging an available army of young campaign volunteers/students was maintaining the city’s carefully crafted brand. Heck, the mayor should just lean into this story and change her campaign slogan to: “Lori Lightfoot – I got a favor to ask ya, and I ain’t exactly askin’, if ya get my drift.”

Pressing teachers to recruit student campaigners is TOTALLY FINE!

The Chicago Teachers Union, which has fueded with Lightfoot and supports a different mayoral candidate, released a statement saying: “This is unethical and wrong on so many levels – not least of which is our concern that CTU members who decline to volunteer for the mayor’s campaign or encourage their students to do so could face retaliation.”

Retaliation? Nah, don’t be silly. Just because the mayor of Chicago picks everyone who sits on the Board of Education as well as the schools superintendent, and just because that mayor is “asking” teachers to “ask” students to “help” her reelection campaign, and just because the mayor has a highly contentious relationship with the teachers union, and just because this all sounds like an example someone would use to explain the word “unethical” … sorry, I forgot what point I was trying to make.

Let's just forget this ever happened, all right? Otherwise ... I know a guy

So, you know, bottom line: Nothin’ happened, nobody did nothin’ wrong and we’re all square now, got it?

You better get it. Cause in case you don’t know, all us Windy City folks know a guy. And if you don’t get it, we know a guy who will help you get it, if you get what I’m sayin’.

Now let’s get those school kids out on the streets rallying support for our fine mayor. This is, after all, Chicago.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook  facebook.com/RexIsAJerk, or contact him at rhuppke@usatoday.com

More from Rex Huppke:

House GOP heard the American voters. They definitely want Hunter Biden investigations!

Noted political loser Donald Trump announces plan to lose presidential race again.

After the 'red wave' flop, we need new male political experts who are always wrong. I'm in.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asks kids to work campaign for 'credit'