INCS vs. CTU
Thursday, Apr 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Susie An at WBEZ…
A super PAC affiliated with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is celebrating some of the winners it backed in Chicago’s aldermanic runoff elections on Tuesday.
The Action Independent Committee of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools dramatically boosted its spending in the 2019 election. It spent less than $30,000 on materials supporting only two aldermanic campaigns in 2015. This year, that spending jumped to more than $800,000.
INCS endorsed 13 aldermanic candidates this year. Between February and Tuesday’s elections, 10 of those candidates won. […]
But INCS took a major loss in the 40th Ward on the city’s Far Northwest Side. The group endorsed longtime Ald. Pat O’Connor and spent more than $80,000 on his re-election campaign, the largest amount it spent on any runoff race. O’Connor was defeated by political newcomer Andre Vasquez.
This is quite surprising because it really seemed that the tide had completely turned on charter schools, particularly in Chicago.
The group reported raising $1.7 million since mid-November, much of it from Walmart heirs. It spent about half that on independent expenditures.
* These include races in both rounds. INCS winners…
Lopez (15)
Coleman (16)
Brookins (21)
Scott (24)
Burnett (27)
Reboyras (30)
Cardona (31)
Austin (34)
Mitts (37)
Nugent (39)
* INCS losers…
Acevedo (25)
O’Connor (40)
Moore (49)
O’Connor and Joe Moore probably couldn’t be helped. Their time had passed. Acevedo had his own issues.
…Adding… Very good points by Dri. They didn’t mail on their issues and weren’t necessarily the only candidates in their races…
* Now, let’s take a look at candidates reporting contributions from the Chicago Teachers Union. As above, these include results from both the first and second rounds. Winners…
Sawyer (6)
Sadlowski Garza (10)
Taylor (20)
Rodriguez (22)
Sigcho-Lopez (25)
Martin (47)
Maldonado (26)
Ramirez-Rosa (35)
Hadden (49)
ADDED: Vasquez (40)
* Losers…
Murphy (39)
Yanez (15)
Dalieden (40)
Wozniak Francis (46)
* To be determined…
Hairston (5)
So, the final tally is 10-3 vs. 10-4-1. [Corrected because I put one contest in the wrong spot.]
- Anon - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 2:51 pm:
Hadden won
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 2:53 pm:
Thanks, Anon. One of those days. Corrected.
- Sue - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 2:55 pm:
Minority families support charter schools. Case closed. Charter schools is the biggest reason Andrew Gilliam is not Governor Gilliam
- TopHatMonocle - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:01 pm:
CTUs biggest error on the losers list was definitely Murphy. He is the Committeeman there and could have won if he was evenly resourced with Nugent. Instead there was a tsunami of money for Nugent from INCS and developers. Also, did CTU not support Arena?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
Anyone care to enlighten on how Lalonde out-organized the CTU-endorsed candidate in 46? The primary was close.
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:15 pm:
The 46th race was odd - Lalonde wasn’t DSA but shared some of their concerns/positions. CTU endorsing Cappleman strikes me a bit like their endorsement of Preckwinkle - seemed pragmatic at the time but wasn’t based on princple.
The bill to make the CPS board passed overwhelmingly in the house today: if that becomes law, hard to picture CTU not controlling and being very hostile to the charter schools.
- njt - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:25 pm:
I wonder how this hearing went today:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=2100&GAID=15&SessionID=108&LegID=117725
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:26 pm:
=Minority families support charter schools. Case closed. =
Research does not. Case closed.
- City Zen - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:29 pm:
==hard to picture CTU not controlling and being very hostile to the charter schools.==
Just the non-unionized charters.
- outsider - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:30 pm:
Does the fact that a group contributes to a campaign automatically suggest the candidate endorses their views.
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:40 pm:
Dark money in IE’s controlled by INCs went to candidates fighting to retain their day jobs. Its pretty unlikely those same candidates are going to be pushing to open new charters in their wards; those conversations have changed from 10 years ago. That ship has sailed.
But candidates accepting $ from big money PAC?That ship will never sail.
- Bebe - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:41 pm:
Marianne Lalonde is definitely a progressive candidate–just not the CTU’s pick because Erika Wozniak Francis is a CPS teacher. Not every candidate with progressive commitments are DSA (Matt Martin is not.) Marianne gained ground troops from Midwest Asian American Progressives, a new PAC, with Marianne as their first endorsee, to augment her own volunteers.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:41 pm:
===Dark money===
INCS isn’t a dark money PAC.
- downstateR - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:45 pm:
Libertarians can’t win elections, but their version of the ACLU (for lack of a better analogy) is pretty successful in winning school choice cases. There must be some desire for choice if parents are willing to sue for it.
https://ij.org/pillar/school-choice/?post_type=case
Or elect politicians who support it.
- Shytown - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:06 pm:
== INCS isn’t a dark money PAC. ==
Rich please do us all a favor and do a post on what constitutes a “dark money” PAC vs what’s not. Please?
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:08 pm:
Main Point to take away is that no one has a monopoly on the Charter school issue. Just as many who want it as those who don’t. So too bad if CTU is feeling threatened. Deal with it.
- TopHatMonocle - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:14 pm:
Shytown, I’m not Rich, but the definition would be PAC that doesn’t disclose the individual donors funding it. The INCS PAC surprisingly does report their individual donors. It’s mostly from the Walton family it looks like. Also, Arena did get 25k from CTU in February so that’s another one for the loss column.
- Urban Girl - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:15 pm:
It seems like money helps you win, and moneyed interests, whether CTU or INCS, likes people that seem like they can win. Quick take - The two groups were not going head to head in the runoffs, except 15, 25, 39. They both had picks in 40 and 49 for the primaries. CTU won outright in 49, and 40 INCS moved to runoff only to lose, which as others note was just about timing.
Neither can really claim a big win. Both are just hedging their bets.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:19 pm:
Charters are extremely popular on the ground with parents, so no surprise.
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
JS Mills - that’s not correct, there is research supporting the claim that charter schools benefit minority students.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528381.pdf
- Anon Y - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
The vote was for change not about charter schools. No one in the 40th ward wants a charter school just ask the last two we fought and won against.
- City Zen - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:11 pm:
==what constitutes a “dark money” PAC vs what’s not.==
If the identities of a PAC’s contributors are shining as brightly as a Wal-Mart parking lot after dark, then it is not dark money.
- the working poor - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:25 pm:
CFL per usual, just like establishment dems.
disappointing and stuck in the past.
- 46th Ward - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:31 pm:
CTU also worked (albeit behind the scenes) for Lalonde in 46.
Did a robocall to all members in area, helped organize a protest, etc, etc.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:54 pm:
=what constitutes a “dark money” PAC vs what’s not=
Google Trevor Potter or just watch this:
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/3yzu4u/the-colbert-report-colbert-super-pac—trevor-potter—stephen-s-shell-corporation
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 7:10 pm:
–The group reported raising $1.7 million since mid-November, much of it from Walmart heirs.–
I gotta get some of those.
- Precinct Captain - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 6:11 am:
Murphy was the biggest loser on election night, Nugent was a great candidate and D’Amico’s organization is one of the best around he had his captain’ s working overtime they beat Murphy bad .
- Kelo cpd - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 8:22 am:
You might want to take Murphy off the CTU list since he thought it would be a good idea to do unsanctioned signs with Lightfoot right before election.
- Nelson Hawkns - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:39 pm:
Is Dalieden really a “loss” for CTU since Vasquez (endorsed in 2nd round by Dalieden and CTU) won agaainst O’Connor in 40th? RM’s count makes the 40th a wash for CTU when it is a win. Also 39th is still counting mail-ins. Wouldn’t it be better to just count final outcomes? Ultimately, it could be 12 wins and 3 losses for CTU - and a net gain of solidly pro-CTU voices on city council.