Paul Vallas says he's staying in New Orleans

From The Chicago Sun-Times: Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, will not be coming home to Chicago to run for public office. After months contemplating switching political parties and running for Cook County Board president in 2010 as a Republican, the former Chicago Public Schools chief has decided to renew his contract as chief of the Recovery district. Vallas says he feels strongly that his work to restore public schools in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged area is not close enough to completion to allow him to leave.

FEBRUARY 2009...from The Chicago Sun-Times: Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, is planning to return to his home state of Illinois and become a candidate for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010. Vallas, who was chief executive of the public school systems in Chicago and Philadelphia, has been in charge of the the state-run Recovery District since 2007. In 2002, Vallas sought the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor, but he lost to Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed from office last week. Vallas plans to run as a Republican for the county board presidency.