Arne Duncan, the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, has accepted an offer to serve as Education secretary in the Obama administration, according to CBS 2 in Chicago.
Duncan has earned a reputation as a public education reformer but has avoided earning the kind of ire from unions felt by public school chiefs in New York and Washington, D.C.
Duncan and President-elect Obama are long-time friends who play basketball together.
Other names that were mentioned for the job were New York City’s schools chancellor Joel Klein, Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and Denver schools superintendent Michael Bennet.