News Archives: Tagged chicago

Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On A Basketball Arena   

As we wrote in March, the city of Chicago unveiled plans two months ago to close over 50 schools, mostly in the poorest areas.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan has sparked fierce protests, with thousands of protesters hitting the streets last weekend to oppose the school closures –arguing that they would put children at risk by having to travel further to overcrowded schools.

But while the city insists it must close these schools to close budget gaps, it has just announced that it will be dedicated as much as $100 million in public funds for the construction of a new basketball arena at DePaul University — which is about a third of the cost of the project.

Emanuel justified such a large public investment by saying that building the arena and surrounding event center will bring “huge opportunity” to the city of Chicago in the way that it would attract business and tourists.

This statement came at around the same time the Board of Education — despite desperate pleas from city residents as, Progress Illinois documents here — voted in favor of the mayor’s plan to shutter 50 schools. The Board, it should be noted, is not elected like it is in some municipalities. It was appointed by Mayor Emanuel.

Posted on May 23, 2013 at 11:09am by . Posted in , , , , . 1 comment. Leave a response.

Chicago Set To Close 54 Schools, But Gives Hundreds Of Millions To Private Developers   

Last night, the city of Chicago unveiled a plan to close 54 elementary schools, mostly in low-income and African American areas — meeting fierce resistance from parents, teachers, and students who fear for their safety in longer commutes to new, overcrowded schools. The authors of the plan claim that it’s needed to close a $1 billion city deficit.

But a look at the city’s finances show that it is wasting potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on financing private development projects — all culled from property taxes that traditionally were used to finance the school system instead.

Known as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), this program diverts a portion of property taxes in certain districts to fund development projects — which siphon money off to contractors and private developers — instead.

Estimates of how much money is diverted to the TIF projects range from $500 million to $800 million, and some of the arrangements have been an embarrassment to the city. For example, the city gave $30 million “to the developers of River Point, an upscale office complex on the banks of the Chicago River downtown, in the hottest real estate market in the city.”

This morning, a parent-led organization called Raise Your Hand held a press conference highlighting the impact of the closings on special education students in particular (6,000 are expected to be impacted). “Chicago Public Schools has traumatized these families,” says the first speaker. Watch it:

With school closing plan causing uproar in many Chicago communities, and it is expected to impact 30,000 kids and 1,000 teachers overall if enacted — making it difficult to see why the city is closing schools but not looking at the TIF program for savings.

 

Posted on March 22, 2013 at 2:13pm by . Posted in , , . Leave a response.

Chicago Plans To Close Up To 50 Schools As Parents And Teachers Prepare Protests   

Last year, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) held a strike to fight against school privatization, decaying school infrastructure, and unfair contracts for teachers. Their popular strike won a series of concessions from Chicago Public Schools, despite opposition from Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But the CTU is once again being forced to mobilize as CPS has unveiled a plan to close almost 50 neighborhood schools, in a scorched earth budget-cutting maneuver. CPS principals were astonishingly not even told their schools would be closing until 6 a.m. today. “I’m angry. I’m upset. I’m shaking to the core. I didn’t think they’d actually go through with this, the largest number of closings ever. There’s been no real planning,” said Clarice Berry, president of Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.

Chicago has never closed more than a dozen schools in a single year, and Emanuel reportedly pushed for closing so many at one time, deciding to offer a five-year moratorium on closings in the future as a bargaining chip.

CTU is planning a rally for next Wednesday to bring together students, teachers, parents, and other community members to protest against the school closure plan.

UPDATE: The full list has been unveiled. 54 schools are slated to be closed. They are all elementary schools and almost all of them are in low-income and/or black neighborhoods.

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Posted on March 21, 2013 at 4:38pm by . Posted in , , . Leave a response.

Despite Facing $300 Million Chicago Budget Deficit, Rahm Rules Out Raising Taxes   

Photo credit: Flickr user juggernautco

As cities across the country grapple with tough budget decisions thanks to the economic crisis caused by Wall Street, progressives continue to demand a balanced approach that does not rely solely on cuts.

But Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is disregarding any sense of balance in grappling with the city’s $300 million budget deficit. “No new taxes, fines and fees,” he told the Chicago Tribune recently.

His comment shocked some budget analysts. “Absent some reform of the benefits that are paid out, a tax increase is just simple math — it has to occur,” said Shawn O’Leary, who is a senior research analyst in Chicago at Nuveen Asset Management. “You can’t cut your way to that kind of balance.”

If Rahm rules out tax increases, it’s likely that the only savings to be found would be through harsh cuts to the city budget, and perhaps rollbacks in pensions for public workers. That’s the cost of taking the Grover Norquist approach to budgeting, and it’s one that Chicago residents should demand that Emanuel back down from.

Posted on October 6, 2012 at 9:00am by . Posted in , , . 2 comments. Leave a response.

Rahm Emanuel’s City Council Floor Leader Says Chicago Should Consider Banning Teacher Strikes   

A Chicago Teachers Union action from earlier this year. (Photo credit: Flickr user JeanPaulHolmes)

The Chicago Teachers Union ended its strike last week in a resounding victory for students, teachers, and parents. (See a list of what they won here.)

But anti-union forces don’t want to see working people continue to win victory’s like last week’s. Chicago Alderman Patrick O’Connor, who serves as the city council floor leader for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is suggesting that the city move towards banning teacher strikes in the future:

Chicago’s first teachers strike in 25 years should trigger a debate about whether or not teachers should be allowed to strike, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader said. [...] ”The anxiety leading up to the strike and the week they were off–the disruption it caused and the need for government and our constituents to scramble to find ways to keep their children safe–it’s worth discussing if you can avoid that,” said O’Connor, former longtime chairman of the City Council’s Education Committee.

37 states currently prohibit teacher strikes, and anti-labor forces are campaigning to expand these laws. Interestingly, post-Mubarak Egypt — a country which is still a long way away from becoming even an imperfect democracy — has faced momentous teacher strikes that the military government has been unable to put down. That, if anything, is a sad commentary on the lack of teacher rights in much of the United States.

Posted on September 24, 2012 at 3:15pm by . Posted in , . 1 comment. Leave a response.

Labor Continues To Fight Back: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Goes On Strike   

The Chicago Teachers Union strike that ended last week was an important milestone for the labor movement. It resulted in a great victory for students and teachers, but it also showed other unions nationwide that they can fight and win, even against enormous odds.

So when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was told that their employees would see their health care contributions double in their next contract — from 5 percent to 12 percent — they decided they wouldn’t take it lying down.

CSO declared on Saturday that it would go on strike. Here’s one musician explaining why he’s on strike:

“We were negotiating all day today after having negotiated many times,” said bassist Stephen Lester, chairman of the Orchestra Members Committee. “They were trying to force us into a concessionary contract, reducing our benefits and making it difficult for the orchestra to pay for health care and keep our basic standard of life.”

The CSO strike is evidence that CTU’s strike is inspiring other unions to stand up for themselves and stop attacks on the wages, benefits, and working conditions of their employees.

Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:26am by . Posted in , . 2 comments. Leave a response.

VICTORY: A List Of What Chicago’s Teachers Won In Their Strike   

Today, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to end its strike. After seven long days of boisterous rallies and protests, the CTU agreed to the offer made by the city of Chicago through the leadership of Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Naysayers condemned the strike from the onset as harmful for the district and harmful for kids, but a look at what teachers won shows that it actually did a lot for the schools. Here’s a list of just some of the highlights, drawn from a CTU draft of what its members agreed to:

  • A REASONABLE SCHOOL LENGTH: Chicago originally proposed a 7 hour, 40 minute school day that threatened to overwork students and teachers (especially without proper compensation). CTU won a 7 hour day for elementary school and 7 hour, 15 minute day for high school
  • FUNDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION IN ARTS AND MUSIC: CPS originally had proposed no funding for additional staff. CTU won funding for over 600 new positions, mostly for arts, music, and physical education — important outlets for a comprehensive education.
  • MAYORAL ACCOUNTABILITY: The original contract called for a length of five years, meaning that Mayor Rahm Emanuel would not be responsible for negotiating another one within his term. The new contract lasts for 3 years, meaning the next negotiation would be during the mayoral race and allow teachers and parents to hold the mayor accountable.
  • KEEPING HEALTH CARE COSTS DOWN: The original contract would’ve had a nearly 40 percent increase on families and couples. Now, there will be a freeze on health care premiums and co-pays for all CTU members.
  • FAIR EVALUATIONS: 70 percent of a teacher’s quality rating will be based on their practice rather than student test scores.
  • A MORE FAIR PAY RAISE: Originally, CPS was only offering a 2 percent pay raise with no guaranteed raise for the following four years. Now, there will be a 3 percent pay raise and a 2 percent raise each of the next couple years.
  • MORE MONEY FOR SUPPLIES; TEXTBOOKS ON DAY ONE: Originally CPS was only offering $100 for supplies per teacher. Now that will be raised to $250. Additionally, there will be guaranteed textbook distribution on the first day of classes, for the first time ever.

These are just a few of the concessions that CTU won. Read the full list here.

This was a hard-fought victory for PCCC and the labor movement at large. Let CTU’s example stand for all workers: when you’re being mistreated, if you fight back, you can win. PCCC is airing the following ad to show why unions fought this fight:


You can help air it in Chicago by clicking here. 

Posted on September 18, 2012 at 9:52pm by . Posted in , , . 33 comments. Leave a response.

Hedge Funders Launch TV Attack On Chicago’s Teachers — Help Us Fight Back   

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike is entering its seventh day, and many observers expect  the labor action to end this week and result in a victory for students and teachers.

But the forces of school privatization aren’t sitting out the fight. A group calling itself Education Reform Advocacy Now is airing a 30-second commercial in Chicago attacking the strike. Watch it:

To start with, the commercial itself is simply misleading. It implies that the CTU opposes a longer school day, whereas the union itself actually agreed to a longer school day as long as teachers are fairly compensated for it.

It’s also important to note who it is who is running the ad. Education Reform Now Advocacy is the 501(c)4 tax status organization run by the same folks who run Democrats For Education Reform (DFER), a group that has openly advocated for charter schools to use funds that are supposed to be used to educate students to instead lobby the government.

Democrats for Education Reform’s board consists almost entirely of individuals from the finance industry (mostly hedge funds). Education Reform Now Advocacy is based not in Chicago — like the teachers it is bashing — but in New York City.

Education Reform Now’s last disclosure filing with the state of New York was in December 2010. Interestingly, the disclosure shows a quarter million dollar loan from Charles Ledley, a hedge fund kingpin who made millions by betting against the subprime mortgage market.

While most of the money from DFER and associated groups comes from Big Finance based outside of Chicago, one group it certainly does not represent is teachers and parents, like those who are fighting for a fair deal from the city today.

We’re not letting this stand. We’ve put together our own ad to fight back — and it features real teachers, students, and parents fighting for their public schools. Check it out:

 

Don’t let this group of financial elites control the debate in Chicago. Click here to pitch in $3 to run our ad featuring parents and teachers standing with the Chicago Teachers Union.

Posted on September 18, 2012 at 3:45pm by . Posted in , , . 2 comments. Leave a response.

PROGRESS ILLINOIS: Progressive Group Launches New Ad In Support Of CTU (VIDEO)   

As parents, students and teachers all wait to see when, and if, classes will resume, which they could as soon as tomorrow, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) is releasing an ad, set to hit Chicagoland airwaves immediately, thanking the teachers’ union “for their fight for students and parents.” Regardless of what happens today with the House of Delegates’ vote, PCCC officials say they will continue to run the ad as they see the Chicago teachers’ strike as indicative of a national battle between unions and politicians, particularly conservatives like Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who released a statement at the start of the strike blasting CTU. [more]

Posted on September 18, 2012 at 2:54pm by . Posted in , , , , , , . Leave a response.

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS: Activity swirls as teachers union gets ready to vote   

It won’t be until this evening at least when we’ll find out whether the Chicago teachers strike is over. But there sure is a lot of activity out there — mostly by the Chicago Teachers Union and its allies. In one development, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a left-of-center political action committee that has been active in Wisconsin, began airing a “thank you, unions” ad on broadcast and cable TV and on the Internet. “Because we’re a union, we can work together to make things better for our schools,” it says. [more]

Posted on September 18, 2012 at 1:30pm by . Posted in , , , , , , . Leave a response.