Rahm: No Money for Schools But Millions for….

May 23, 2013 //

Even as Rahm Emanuel says he has no money for schools, none at all, the cupboard is bare….. He somehow managed to find $55 million to build a private basketball stadium. Now, this is a mayor with priorities!

Categories Budget Cuts, Chicago, Closing schools, Education Industry, Emanuel, Rahm

31 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

Joel says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:16 pm

I guess we know who butters his bread…or fills his pockets.

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readingexchange says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:17 pm

Disgusting!

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irashor says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:17 pm

Exactly like billionaire Mayor Bloomberg in NYC. Gave public subsidies of ca. $550mil to Yankees to build new Stadium and similar amount to Mets for their new stadium, but no money to lower rising class sizes in NYC pub schls, homeless population set a record, no funds to maintain public parks in working-class areas. Of course we are not broke–the 1% have never been richer, but they are imposing austerity on everyone except themselves.

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- Michael Fiorillo says:
  
  May 23, 2013 at 7:53 pm
  
  Yes, and now Bloomberg wants to gobble up more of Flushing Meadow park for a stadium for a soccer team owned by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile teachers have been working without a contract for almost five years, and there are more homeless children in the city than ever before.
  
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  - mathcs says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 6:59 am
    
    “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, or “Let them eat cake” is attributed to another person supposedly oblivious to the condition of the people.
    
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  - Michael Fiorillo says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 8:34 am
    
    mathcs,
    
    In our era, that would have to be updated to, “Let them eat GMO soy and high fructose corn syrup while they watch ‘Dancing With the Stars.'”
    
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M. Schneider says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:28 pm

Superintendent John White manages to end with a state surplus due to overbidding on education projects. The House Appropriations Committee chair took him to task for this.

In the recent charter school audit, White said that he could not perform regular site visits due to financial constraints:

Louisiana Charter School Audit Reveals Faux-Accountability

Yet he hires former TFAers for salaries far exceeding those of any classroom teacher:

Former-TFAers-Gone-LDOE-Leaders: Incompetence at a Premium

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HAHurley says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:30 pm

How can one destructive, evil, sociopathic & self-serving mayor be allowed to misuse his power without someone, anyone other than victims – educators, families and children, speak up and intervene? He is so well protected, all the way to the White House, USDOE, EdReformers, BigCorp$ & 1%ers.
No ppl in power putting a stop to him. Arne set the stage and cleared the way. Obama gave his blessings.
We wonder why so many of our kids struggle. He ripped their hearts out and this chaos will leave a trail for years.
I don’t want to hear any more educational interventions related to children in poverty UNLESS we address all the factories that got them there. Including being Rahm Emanuelized! Don’t want to hear another innovative teaching method, app, gadget, test, test scores, tests, common core, nothing. STOP and fix the mess created.

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George Buzzetti says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:31 pm

They always have money for their bilionaire friends and nothing for those who need help and were thrown into despair from the outrageous Laizzez Faire financial robbery and theft that has happened since the 2008 crash which is a result of Clinton signing the 1999-2000 Banking Deregulation Acts, the 1996 Telecommunications Act and in 1994 NAFTA and WTO. Thanks you rich guys who have dramatically increased your wealth in the non-capitalistic system you deal with as in real capitalism when you screw up you pay the price and that is not being saved by those you screwed.

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teachingeconomist says:

May 23, 2013 at 6:36 pm

I would not say the cabinet is bare: CPS has 5.35 billion dollars in revenue in 2013.

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- CitizensArrest says:
  
  May 23, 2013 at 7:04 pm
  
  Yet CPS still claims they are facing a 1 billion dollar shortfall and at the same time have borrowed money in order to be able to afford closing 49 schools, closings that are highly unlikely to save anywhere near the money they claim, if any at all.
  
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 23, 2013 at 7:11 pm
    
    They claim to spend more than they take in.
    
    My local public school district closed an elementary school about a six years ago, and is likely to close another in the next couple of years. Should school closures be avoided at all costs?
    
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  - Dienne says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 6:51 am
    
    TE, sometimes the disingenuity in your comments is absolutely stunning. I can’t believe you can honestly miss the point quite that widely, so I have to assume there’s a good deal of willfulness here.
    
    The question isn’t “should school closures be avoided at all costs?” The question is should we borrow money to close 49 schools that don’t need to be closed (and thereby disrupt the lives of 40,000 students already facing significant challenges and put their lives even more at risk) at the same time we spend tens or hundreds of millions building a basketball stadium for a private, Catholic university that can’t even produce a decent basketball team?
    
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 7:20 am
    
    I am trying to figure out what folks here think the proper response to a zero population growth future should be. It is clear that there are fewer school age children in Chicago now than there were ten years ago, it is clear that there will be fewer school children in Chicago in ten years than there are today. How should the public school system react to this situation? Most have said not by closing schools this year. Would next year be better? Would closing them in five years be better? Would keeping them open and just having the size of the schools shrink be a less costly option?
    
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  - Dienne says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 8:21 am
    
    “…it is clear that there will be fewer school children in Chicago in ten years than there are today.”
    
    Wow, that’s pretty impressive psychic ability you have there, TE – how did you receive this divine revelation?
    
    The fact of the matter is that CPS lies. They greatly (and intentionally) overestimated the population loss from CPS schools. Schools in Chicago have historically been overcrowded – Willis wagons in the 60s, teaching in broom closets in the 80s, classes of 42 kindergarteners in the 90s and 2000s. To whatever extent CPS has experienced or will experience a population loss, it is in no way indicative of a need to close and consolidate schools. It simply means that there is a possibility that Chicago public school children could now have an opportunity to learn in reasonable sized classes – the same sized classes that we middle class folks put our kids in.
    
    The real question I should have asked is, given the fact that Rahm and his minions at CPS have repeatedly been caught lying, why should they be entrusted with *any* school policy decisions, closing or otherwise?
    
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 8:39 am
    
    I am just looking at the census figures for 0-5 year olds in Chicago. Do you think that the 15% decline in the number of infants and toddlers in the city means there will be more school age children in the coming years?
    
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  - Dienne says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 10:19 am
    
    The number of children currently in Chicago doesn’t predict who will be in Chicago in 10 years. People move in and out rather frequently. Demographic patterns change.
    
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 24, 2013 at 10:36 am
    
    You are correct: the forty year trend might reverse itself.
    
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CitizensArrest says:

May 23, 2013 at 7:12 pm

Here are 2 other well done stories on the same topic. Surprising to say, Mr. Joravsky comes in third this time! http://www.thenation.com/blog/174478/rahm-emmanuels-zombie-pigs-vs-chicagos-angry-birds
This article from a Sun Times SPORTS REPORTER really knocks it out of the park. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/20113457-419/with-rahms-depaul-plan-weve-entered-a-new-arena-of-stupidity.html

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Chiara says:

May 23, 2013 at 7:14 pm

He’s a poor fit for that job. The only thing he was really good at was counting heads in Congress. He needs the check on behavior provided by 400-some OTHER huge egos.
Hopefully the free market will inform him he’s not executive material next election. He seems to be extremely unpopular out there as a singular figure. That piece is brutal. It drips not just with dislike, but contempt.

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paula hurdle says:

May 23, 2013 at 8:51 pm

Scumbag!

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Robert Rendo says:

May 23, 2013 at 9:18 pm

Wow!

I finally realize that we don’t have enough money to do much of anything in the public realm.

We don’t have enough money to build storm shelters for little children and teachers in Oklahoman schools.

We don’t have enough money to properly care for our returning veterans in a timely manner.

We don’t have enough money to build levees in New Orleans like the Dutch do in Holland.

We don’t have enough money to adequately cover about 50 million people in the United States for healthcare.

But we do have money to

1. Give Facebook a 400 million dollar tax refund.

2. Allow and ignore the 1.3 trillion dollars offshore money untaxed and produced by American corporations.

3. Provide TARP funds.

4. Sustain troops in Afghanistan and Iraq . . .

5. Allow a maximum tax rate of about 37% for personal wealth rather than it being about double or more back in the 60’s and 70’s. So much for trickle down wealth.

But I must remind myself, alas, that there’s really no more money – at least no more of our tax dollars – that can possibly flow back to us, the majority, since it’s being used, well for other purposes.

We are becoming a third world nation with a first world military.

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Donald Tinney says:

May 23, 2013 at 9:48 pm

Listen to the children. They know the truth.

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- Ellen says:
  
  May 24, 2013 at 3:23 pm
  
  This made me cry. What are they doing to our babies???? I am soooo tired and sad.
  
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Old Teacher says:

May 24, 2013 at 12:15 am

Robert, you’ve got it just right! In the world of the oligarchs there are different kinds of money. They have that which is abundant, the other items have money that is in short supply. Besides, they haven’t realized that a collapsed society is bad for business. They won’t know that until they have to move to China themselves and no one can buy their junk. The French Revolution was made of just such stuff. By the way, I enjoyed your artwork, anywhere we can buy posters?

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pidge says:

May 24, 2013 at 1:29 am

Our mayor (Sacramento, CA) is even better! Former NBA player, married to the Rhee-former herself. He’d do more damage to education if he paid attention to any local issues besides holding onto the Sacramento Kings basketball team. May he continue myopic!!

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jean sanders says:

May 24, 2013 at 7:37 am

I guess I prefer to see him as “misguided”…. powerful forces and corporate influences command more dollars than would be in the budgets…. The commissioner of education in a state might have NO discretionary funds…. I am not a citizen of his city and don’t know the full extent…. there could be some underlying attitudes about social class also . I just want to point out the parallel here to other sports arenas (remember the bridge that collapsed)??? Charley Pierce is one of my most favorite sports writers and he comments on “ONLY A Game”…. which for me tries to put these issues in perspective… Charley talks about the Marlins stadium (I don’t want to cite it here) …. the Marlins can pull in 50 million (a year) even if they lose games and they convinced the former administration(s) to build the stadium…. what is the benefit to taxpayers? what is the benefit to other interests? what is the benefit to students (the age groups we are more concerned with. Sometimes there are false claims that the youth will benefit more than they actually do and this is used to “sell” the interest of the team…. it is similar to the alumni associations that continue to build the sports agenda at the University…. I have been begging people in the past few years… “please don’t call me a coach”…. Mentor, yes, but not a coach please; I prefer Teacher as someone who will provide instruction…
(I reacted to “facilitator” in the same way in the past)…. But do read or listen to Charley Pierce on the stadium in FL… there are parallels.

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- Dienne says:
  
  May 24, 2013 at 8:22 am
  
  How can someone be “misguided” when he has not allowed for any “guidance” at all?
  
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Connie Snyder says:

May 24, 2013 at 9:12 pm

Emmanuel is now on the same list with the Koch Bros. in my book. The American people had better learn to recognize those politicians who will do anything…ANYTHING… for the corporate kingpins while the people they’re supposed to serve are raped and pillaged.

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multiracialfam says:

May 27, 2013 at 5:54 pm

I find it astounding, and unconscionable, that human lives mean little to nothing when the choice is between the excesses of a few self minded, self serving citizens and leaders. With no disrespect intended, it seems an apartheid of sorts to ignore the high poverty rates, homelessness, low earning potential, and diminished educational opportunities of the 99%. How do these guys live with themselves in all good conscience. I guess they don’t have one.

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Mary Martin says:

May 28, 2013 at 9:12 am

Yet oddly enough, these are the people that keep getting elected. How can we get a good person in office? They will tear him/her to shreds when he makes the first little wake in the water.

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