MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday March 29, 2023
Contact: Cassie Creswell, Illinois Families for Public Schools,773-916-7794
BETSY DEVOS’ SUPER PAC SPENDING THOUSANDS TO ELECT PAUL VALLAS MAYOR OF CHICAGO
VALLAS’ EDUCATION PLATFORM PULLED FROM DEVOS’ PRIVATIZATION PLAYBOOK
CHICAGO – Last week ex-President Trump’s former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made a $59,000 independent expenditure in support of mayoral candidate Paul Vallas’ campaign from a Super PAC she funds, the Illinois Federation for Children PAC.
The Illinois Federation for Children PAC was established in March 2022 and has received $465,000 in total from DeVos’ American Federation for Children Action Fund, a national 527 PAC. The Illinois Federation PAC’s chair, Nathan Hoffman, was a registered contract lobbyist in Springfield for the American Federation for Children until January this year.
Although DeVos has not endorsed Vallas, Vallas’ education plans for Chicago’s school system are directly aligned with DeVos agenda of school privatization, one she supported as Secretary of Education and promotes through her national network of advocacy organizations and PACs: defunding and dismantling public school systems and redirecting public funds via programs like vouchers for private schools.
In a little-noticed February 2022 op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, Vallas laid out a radical plan for privatizing Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In addition to supporting Illinois’ existing Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship voucher program, which already diverts millions to pay for vouchers for more than 4000 Chicago children, Vallas would create a city-funded voucher program and pay for it with funds from the CPS operating budget earmarked for teacher pensions. The pension payments would then instead be covered by surplus Tax Increment Financing dollars.
In that same op-ed, Vallas also proposes allowing religious private schools to become district-funded charter (or “contract”) schools, a policy so extreme that it was recently rejected by the conservative Republican attorney general of Oklahoma as “state-funded religion.”
Vallas also voices his support for “a reconstituted system in which parents get to direct the per-pupil public dollars to the school (or education model) of their choosing.” More recently, Vallas told WBEZ that “money should follow the students” and “we should be running districts of schools, not school districts.” The education platform on Vallas’ website calls for “dismantling the central administration” of CPS. These are exactly the policies that DeVos and American Federation for Children are advocating: funding students not systems and that dollars must follow students.
In June 2022, Vallas appeared on a panel with keynote speaker Corey DeAngelis, senior fellow at American Federation for Children. The panel, organized by extremist anti-LGBTQ+ parent group, Awake Illinois. Vallas later denounced Awake Illinois, but did not dissociate himself from DeAngelis or American Federation for Children.
Secretary DeVos’ education agenda was harmful to public schools on a national scale. Chicago voters should know that DeVos supports Vallas’ candidacy and that there is no daylight between DeVos and Vallas’ education policies.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Another billionaire trying to influence the outcome of an election, no surprise there. Billionaires are chiseling away at democracy with their weaponized wealth. They want to destroy the common good. I hope the voters see Vallas for the incompetent opportunist that he is. I hope those that value public education show up and vote in large numbers.
“I hope they see Vallas” as the person implementing the plan of conservative Catholic, Paul Weyrich, whose efforts were funded by Koch. Weyrich was a co-founder of the religious right, ALEC and the Heritage Foundation.
CatholicNewWorld.com (at its site there’s a link to the Chicago archdiocese) posted an interview with Vallas (8-14-2005). The interview’s preface begins, “Paul Vallas has learned a lot from Catholic schools-both as a student and education administrator.” Vallas was asked what he had learned. His answer was, “…the importance of faith-based partnerships. Faith-based partnerships are a tremendous resource for public institutions…” Vallas praised a law in Pennsylvania that allows students to have faith-based services during the school day.
Remember- taxpayers have made Catholic organizations the nation’s 3rd largest employer. Vallas and the conservative Catholic judges on SCOTUS read from the same script.
BDV • The Grift That Just Keeps On Grifting
Nothing less than the fate of public education in the United States is at stake in the Chicago mayoral election. Public education has already lost in the third largest state in the country, Florida. Passage of universal vouchers have killed it there. It is only a matter of time before the consequences are visible to the vast majority of Floridians, but, as Dandy Don used to sing on Monday Night Football, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” The fight for survival of public education as already been lost at the federal level. Biden administration education policy wonks have already capitulated to neoliberals and DeVosian money and influence. Just as the Obama administration did.
We are literally fighting at the last barricades in the urban centers. If Chicago is lost, public education as an institution and idea will be lost completely within the next two decades. Bank on it. Elite public schools in wealthy communities will survive as elitist charter schools that will quickly challenge the Phillips Exeter-like institutions of the nation. See Lusher High School in New Orleans for the national template of public schools sorta equaling independent schools, at least on paper.
If Vallas gets control of Chicago schools, empirical evidence — which is also hanging by thread along with its sibling, the scientific method — will permanently be trumped by ideology in American political education. Chicago and New Orleans, rather than represent the diaspora of Black culture from the South to the North and the rest of the world, will become the beacons of reactionary unconditional victory. Future opportunity will truly be a New Jim Crow that even Michelle Alexander underestimated.
Self-confessed far leftists are closer to the republican cult than ever, Democrats have no tactics or strategy to counter their lies, centrists seem to see merit in every campaign to define weak “others” as scapegoats for all societal and political wrongs (especially if they are Black, woke or females who somehow think they are equals in society), and people in places like West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana seem to think the policies that have put there where they are will somehow take them someplace better, or at the very least, ahead of the (insert as many racial slurs as possible here).
All of this is wrapped up in the Chicago mayoral election. It may well be the most national mayoral race since LaGuardia in the 20s. But in the other political and social direction.
Your analysis should be enshrined but, preferably heeded as a clarion call.
In a prior thread, you used WWII as an example to contrast with the current fight for democracy. The selective framing of our battle, limits the enemy, the axis, to business interests – while omitting the Japan and Germany that we actually face in political battle- the American Catholic church. There is widespread cowardice that prevents engagement in combat against the Church.
The Church has capitalized on that and power brokers have exploited it. The American Catholic church is the enemy of women’s rights, public schools and voting rights. And, they don’t hide it.
You should read Jan Ressenger’s important post about privatization and democracy, particularly her references to Benjamin Barber’s book “Consumed.” He shows how the right has perverted the term “liberty or freedom” into individual rights instead of a national value to applies to us all.
Democrats have wasted too much time trying to be conciliatory. They continue to ignore the right’s outrageous behavior when they should be rallying the working people. How do you compromise with fascists, bigots. liars and anarchists that want to destroy public education, a foundational element of a functioning democracy?
https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2023/03/28/37752/
Once again, the mainstream media has failed us. Unfortunately, Chicago is now in a George Santos/Anthony Devolder (or whatever the $@5! his name is) position, in which the truth was not reported by the msm (just a small, not widely-read publication) only briefly, by education groups like ILFPS, or on blogs (Fred Klonsky, who ALWAYS reports the facts, & Julie Vasillatos’ clever, cutting & informative CPF) which are more widely read by progressives, union members (people who wouldn’t/weren’t voting for Vallas anyway). Or on Mercedes & Diane’s blogs (& thank you for that), &, now, in the WaPo (but how many Chicago residents read the WaPo?!!!)So, due to lack of information, disinsormation, misinformation, the guy (George…& now Paul) is elected. Funny, The Chicago Tribune, which endorsed Vallas, had an erstwhile investigative reporter (& a second) TRY: an article ran–BEFORE Early Voting began (I don’t recall if Vote by Mail had started)–in the lower left corner of the front page, but was the ENTIRETY of Page 2. Nothing–ZIP–from the partly union-owned paper (the paper considered to be liberal)–The Chicago Sun-Times.* Yes, they are non-partisan & a 501 (c)3, but that doesn’t preclude them from reporting the truth. &, of course, not ONE of the Chicago local news tv or radio stations picked up on the Trib. story. (&, yes, all 3 of the major news stations DO have “investigative” reporting.) &–even after the Tribune story–the Trib. published its election “cheat sheet” (you know, w/their endorsements, which the voter clips to take into the booth), still w/Paul Vallas for Mayor at the top.
*I’m sorry–a wonderful Sun-Times columnist, Neil Steinberg, DID write something.
But–where has the rest of the news media been?
&–this must be mentioned–thanks, WCPT (Chicago Progressive Talk {Radio}) & Joan Esposito–who had Paul Vallas on her show every Wednesday for WEEKS, introducing him as a “progressive” & misleading people further. &, then, after the run-off came down to 2, she had him on on a Friday & then on a Monday, mentioning they “were trying” to get in touch w/the Johnson Campaign.
I am beyond furious. But more than that, incredibly sad (& depressed) for the City of Chicago.
Yes, I was listening to Joan Esposito yesterday and she definitely was pushing for Paul Vallas. She also announced a change in plans to have Brandon Johnson and Vallas to appear together.
Vallas is bad news for Chicago residents and the Chicago Public Schools. My daughter is a CPS employee and I’m afraid Vallas will march in like Rahmbo and dictate how public education will commence under his rule.
So depressing
Thank you for this pivotal information. I hope Chicago news outlets get flooded with letters to the editors insisting that the unvarnished truth about DeVos and Vallas be reported before Tuesday. Inform the voters of the truth if you are part of the fourth estate; do not enshroud them in darkness. Be responsible.
Wow, you sound like me! I agree.
Remember that this is NOT the fault of Brandon Johnson because he is running a lousy campaign and should be making this an issue and Brandon Johnson is entirely to blame for being such a lousy candidate. I am glad that you aren’t condemning and blaming Brandon Johnson for being such a lousy candidate, and saying that if he wasn’t such a lousy candidate, the media would be reporting all this negative stuff about Vallas and it is entirely Brandon Johnson’s fault that the media won’t cover this issue.
Remember that is NOT the fault of the “corrupt teachers’ union” because of their flaws (I am so sick and tired of hearing lies in which the fact that the union has flaws and isn’t perfect is presented as evidence that the union is in bed with corporate lackeys or Wall Street or organized crime because there must be some nefarious reason why there was a time they made a compromise we didn’t like and that means we should never trust the union or any politician associated with them again.)
Brandon Johnson is a perfectly good candidate who is getting smeared and attacked while every negative about the other candidate is ignored and every positive amplified.
Will people blame Brandon Johnson for his own loss?
Maybe if the issue of media bias had been taken seriously years ago, they might have been shamed into better reporting about Vallas. Or the progressives would have been prepared to battle it.
By always blaming Dems for not saying the things they ARE saying but the media ignores, this kind of reporting became institutionalized.
Jon Stewart is sorely needed to shame the media in Chicago and to shame the media nationally.
But if Brandon Johnson loses, it will be far more productive to fight the now-institutionalized media bias instead of reinforcing it by repeating over and over again that a “better” progressive candidate would have won.