* CTU…
* Mayor Lightfoot last night…
“Today marked the 49th time that CTU and CPS negotiators met at the bargaining table, and the 142nd day that CTU has still not provided us with a comprehensive counter-proposal. Instead of providing a response to our comprehensive proposal, CTU presented its demands to set the City’s affordable housing policy through their collective bargaining agreement, demanding that the City enact CTU’s preferred affordable housing policy as part of their contract.
“My administration is committed to addressing Chicago’s affordable housing challenges. That’s why I appointed the City’s first housing commissioner in a decade, and announced a new and transparent plan for distributing Low Income Housing Tax Credits, with more progress to come. The CTU shares much of our vision on affordable housing, and I invite them to engage in the policymaking process with housing providers, advocacy organizations and other stakeholders who must be a part of this important discussion.
“Affordable housing is a critical issue that affects residents across Chicago, and everyone’s voices need to be heard during this process. As such, the CTU collective bargaining agreement is not the appropriate place for the City to legislate its affordable housing policy.
“We are a week away from our deadline to resolve this contract and avoid a strike. We need CTU to come to the table with written proposals on the core issues we need to address in order to resolve the contract. Once this contract is resolved, our Department of Housing will continue to work closely with stakeholders—including unions like the CTU—to ensure everyone in all of our communities has access to a safe, affordable, accessible place to live.”
* Sun-Times…
CTU spokeswoman Chris Geovanis said late Tuesday that housing costs need to be addressed to help students and lower-paid support staff who she said don’t make enough to live in the city, even though they are required to.
It’s “sad that [the mayor] continues to distort our proposals and try to force a wage agreement that would still leave the children of teaching assistants and school clerks eligible for free and reduced lunch under federal poverty guidelines,” Geovanis said.
The two sides will bargain every day this week except Wednesday in observance of a Jewish holiday. Negotiators will also meet Saturday.
Still, there doesn’t appear to be a resolution in sight with just more than a week left before the union’s Oct. 17 strike deadline.
- Anon E Moose - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:08 am:
It’s almost like they want to strike…
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:12 am:
If the AFSCME “negotiations” over the entire 4 year Rauner term didn’t illustrate the lunancy of the lack of balance In Illinois between union and management interests in government because of collective bargaining, this CTU Impasse will.
- LetsGo - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:16 am:
CTU is Ridiculous.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:16 am:
Meh.
When CTU wants to negotiate parking permits and parking meters…
CTU has a clueless mayor, why bite off more than they can get just by holding this mayor by her campaign promises.
- Honeybear - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:19 am:
oh….oh…oh…I get it. Oh CTU is so so smart. I can’t tell you how much I love and support those folks.
Direct Action Gets Satisfaction
- Stuntman Bob's Brother - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:19 am:
Can Lightfoot petition the Legislature to pass a law prohibiting the CTU from striking? May not help this go-round, but “next time”…
- Just Me 2 - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:21 am:
There are also kids that lack sufficient healthcare, don’t get a warm dinner every night, and don’t get a puppy for Christmas. Is the CTU is now going to strike on those issues as well?
- Sasha Fierce - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:22 am:
Teachers are responsible for teaching, being the social worker, being the nurse, the librarian, and the trauma specialist. Thank you CTU for pointing out that this isn’t just about money but the things that impact how they are able to do their jobs.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:23 am:
When did Rauner deal with CTU… I mean besides an email calling teachers illiterate… and later “regretted” the email.
Rauner asked FOUR people to take his spot so he can quit being governor. This CTU thingy doesn’t justify Rauner not being a failure, Rauner looking for a replacement says otherwise, lol
The big issue now seems to be which crisis will blow up and cause the newly minted mayor to blow up publicly too?
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:24 am:
CTU is “running amok” on these issues taht are not subject to mandatory collective bargaining.
- Powdered Whig - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:24 am:
I am pretty sure that CTU is not allowed to strike over “affordable housing issues”
- Responsa - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:29 am:
They may strike but I’ll be surprised if CTU wins this PR battle. In the meantime the kids and parents of this city who rely on public education and on having the schools open suffer. SMH.
- Original Rambler - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:31 am:
Nice try Sasha. CTU appears to be overplaying their hand this time. Just take your 16% and call it a day…well, 4 years.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:31 am:
Perfect example of union overreach and why I became disillusioned with unions.
- Steve - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:34 am:
I don’t know where all of this leads but.. Chicago teachers shouldn’t have to live in the city if there are better options for them somewhere else. It’s just one man’s opinion.
- Louis G Atsaves - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:45 am:
With that demand the public relations victory over a strike belongs to The Mayor. Unless she does or says something silly.
- BC - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:49 am:
There’s no doubt there are some portions of the city where affordable housing is an issue. But if you’ve been reading Ed Zotti’s outstanding, data-driven series on Chicago’s economic and demographic trends in the Sun-Times, you know the loss of middle class African-American families from the South and West Sides is a much bigger problem — and that is having a profoundly more negative impact on CPS than the lack of affordable apartments in Logan Square and Pilsen.
- Dell Gall Dough - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:49 am:
I wonder how much of this is part of the plot to elect Brandon Johnson in 4y.
- In the Know - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:50 am:
Sasha - you are right, the sticking point is not about money. However, they cannot strike over non-economic matters. Fair housing, while a noble cause, has nothing to do with the contract at issue. Further, issues surrounding staffing levels, 30 minutes nap time and the like are also illegitimate reasons to strike. The newly minted CTU leadership clearly wants to make a statement - ill-timed, tone deaf and to the immense detriment of the City’s students and parents.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 9:52 am:
CTU is trapped in circular reference.
Paying city employees more requires raising taxes, which makes living in the city less affordable, which requires paying those city employees more. And so on.
- Real Estate Speculator - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:04 am:
There are plenty of affordable neighborhoods in the city. They just don’t have a Starbuck’s ratio of 100 persons per store, have a higher than average crime rate, and don’t have easy access to public transportation and amenities like grocery stores.
In all seriousness, it would be nice to create economic and racial diversity in upscale Chicago neighborhoods which, IMHO, is probably the best way to integrate public schools. That said, I’m not sure that this is the hill the union should die on given that other governmental agencies outside of CPS would need to be involved to successfully and sustainably integrate, let’s say for this post, Lincoln Park or Lakeview.
- Generic Drone - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:12 am:
Been in a union half of my life. I agree with Rnug. This is over reach. But I still favor unions.
- Robert the Bruce - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:25 am:
Overreach and tone deaf. But Chicagoans do love its teachers. Lightfoot needs to keep her temper in check.
I think the city erred by offering such a generous raise in round one. That money uses up the money that could otherwise go to social workers and librarians or reducing class size.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:30 am:
Do you really not understand the unions position? Teaching is hard enough when the 50 kids in your class got a decent nights sleep and had breakfast.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:49 am:
how are the teachers paid? checks year round? or not during the summer break? If I were the Mayor I would agree to the nurse and librarian per school and drop the raise offer lower.
- Hynes Guy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:55 am:
CTU is plum loco.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:03 am:
Agree with Amalia’s concept. Maybe try to leverage down the amounts of the offered raises, if class sizes and nurses and librarians are so important to CTU.
“CTU is “running amok” on these issues taht are not subject to mandatory collective bargaining.“
Not being subject to them apparently does not prohibit CPS from negotiating on them if it chooses.
There is no comparison between the CTU contract battle and the harsh garbage Rauner illegally tried to force down AFSCME’s throats. Thanks to Pritzker, the new state worker contract was done quickly. State workers workers made concessions on health insurance costs.
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:04 am:
When did Rauner deal with CTU?
I distinctly recall a demand for reform of unsustainable pensions that was agreed to by Springfield Democrats as a condition for more CPS funding before the the Speaker changed his mind.
CTU was very upset and responded with their typical over the top rhetoric.
“If Governor Rauner says he loves Illinois, yet he hates labor, he is a liar! There is no Illinois without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other,” Lewis said. “I’ve been reading in the news lately about all of these ISIS recruits popping up all over the place. Has Homeland Security checked this man out yet? Because the things he’s doing looks like acts of terror on poor and working class people.”
In a statement, Rauner wrote: “This kind of rhetoric has no place in American public discourse and sets a terrible example for our kids.”
Chicago Police and Fire are prohibited from striking and both pay the full employee share of their pensions unlike CTU which only pays 2% instead of 9%.
Why does CTU continue to get special privileges and get to hold Chicago families and taxpayers hostage until their demands are met?
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:06 am:
In most districts teachers have the option to have their yearly salary paid monthly for 12 months or over the 10 months they teach. So, saying teachers are paid during the summer for doing nothing? Nope. Smaller checks per month if they select the 12 month option.
- Wensicia - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:12 am:
I’ve never seen a teacher’s union reach this far to justify a strike. Unreasonable.
- call me "anonymous" - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:23 am:
The labor movement is at an interesting place right now. On one hand you have dwindling private sector labor participation that could really be bolstered (the warehouses in Will County immediately jump to mind as places in need of a union). On the other hand, you have mega-powerful public sector unions who use their position to push for hard left ideological demands (like CTU) or use their position to defend truly reprehensible actions (FOP). Curious if there is a policy solution to empowering unions in the private sector while curbing unreasonable-to-offensive union demands in the public sector.
- Former State Worker - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:30 am:
=I don’t know where all of this leads but.. Chicago teachers shouldn’t have to live in the city if there are better options for them somewhere else. It’s just one man’s opinion.=
This is wrong. The CPS requires Chicago teachers to live in the city. All employees of the city are required to live in Chicago.
I don’t agree with the CTU here, however. They deserve to lose this PR battle.
- Steve - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:36 am:
- Former State Worker -
I don’t think it’s fair for city workers to be forced to live in the city . What’s the crisis if they live on one side of Howard street or another?
- Donnie Elgin - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:38 am:
What is CTU’s policy position on income inequality, climate change, immigration, voting rights……
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:44 am:
I’m with CTU, but I think they’re losing the PR war. Pick a few education-specific issues, i.e. class size, social workers in schools. Then say, “We’re laser-focused on educating our students. Give us the bare minimum we need to do our jobs right.” You know you’re winning when a person picked randomly on the street knows your top issues. I’ve been following this a bit, and I’m not sure what their highest-priority items are.
- Roman - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:55 am:
No surprises here. The CTU leadership sees themselves as much more than a collective bargaining agent — they believe CTU is a social justice advocacy organization. Some rank-and-file teacher objected to this and made it their platform when they put together a slate to take on the Sharkey/Davis-Gates leadership team last spring. They lost.
- Ashland Adam - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 11:55 am:
Conditions in CPS schools are miserable, chaotic, unstable as a result of decades of policy decisions. Average teachers cannot focus on what’s best for students, and want for their students what kids in Evanston, Naperville, Elmwood Park are afforded.
I met a grandparent of a child in an Evanston school. She said that her grand daughter was asked (I believe in 3rd grade) to pick an instrument, and she’d have to commit to this for the duration of her elementary years. So - she picked Cello, and has had several years of cello instruction in a small group for years. At the end of every year, this student knows who her teachers will be the following year. There is stability and predictability in programming, scheduling and staffing. This is good for kids, families and faculty.
In CPS, teachers are frequently moved around from grade to grade, last minute changes, no commitment to arts education, sped (ISBE is currently overseeing CPS Sped),everything is fly-by-seat-of-the-pants.
CPS teachers are not allowed by state law to negotiate any of this, though in the suburbs and downstate, these are required areas of bargaining.
CPS and the City (and the Trib and Sun Times) have resources to spread their version of the ‘truth.’
The CTU may not be perfect - but average classroom teachers report a different story than CPS, the Mayor, the Trib or Sun Times. And the story they’re telling is way closer to what CTU leadership is reporting.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 12:21 pm:
@anonymous, I was wondering how they get paid….and while we are at it, do they have employment restrictions for working another job?….when they are not working, in the summer. it’s a weird kind of comparison to other jobs because in other jobs a person is working year round. so an annual salary for teachers is for 10 months of work. the mayor should cut back the raise offer (cause their 10 month salary is actually doing fairly well, especially with that raise) and employ nurses and librarians everywhere. that would also add people to unions, help kids, and satisfy one of the teachers demands.
- Cook County Commoner - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 12:33 pm:
Seems CTU is working for realtors. If it gets what it wants, taxes must go up and folks will leave.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 12:39 pm:
==so an annual salary for teachers is for 10 months of work==
I think we can all agree that two months paid summer vacation is well earned.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 12:43 pm:
The mayor should tell CTU she will. find the money for the social programs CTU wants by dropping the subsidation of the employee retirement contribution. CTU members can go back to paying the full 9% employee portion. Only fair that the teachers help pay for the social programs they want.
- MickJ - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 12:48 pm:
The Republican war on the middle class remains very popular.
Good for CTU.
- supplied_demand - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 1:13 pm:
@Steve
===I don’t think it’s fair for city workers to be forced to live in the city . What’s the crisis if they live on one side of Howard street or another?==
They knew the rules when they joined the organization. If they don’t want to live in the city, don’t work for the city. It’s pretty simple stuff.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 1:18 pm:
2 months paid vacation….wow.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 1:42 pm:
Low level clerks and hamburger flippers wouldn’t understand the world of professional careers. The kind of professional careers where constant updates to credentials and licensing are required not only by the employer but by state mandates. Additional degrees in some districts are not only expected but refusal to advance can be met by frozen salaries.
But if you aren’t a professional, like a lawyer, doctor, teacher, you wouldn’t understand the concept of advancing yourself in your field.
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:02 pm:
The teachers union has completely lost it. I have had over a decade of experience in CPS with my kids in 2 elementary schools and 2 High Schools. Not once has their been a class over 30. Now they are demanding affordable housing? What does that even mean? CPS does not provide housing, nor should it.
- Charlie Brown - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:03 pm:
This debate is so deeply ingrained with sexism and racism that you don’t even realize it.
No one in the history of the internet has ever complained about white, male highway construction workers receiving 12 months worth of pay for 8 months worth of work.
Or mostly white, male school superintendents for that matter.
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:04 pm:
RNUGs idea is perfect. The teachers pay the full cost of their pensions. And then hire a few librarians and social workers.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:05 pm:
===No one in the history of the internet has ever complained about white, male highway construction workers receiving 12 months worth of pay for 8 months worth of work===
Um, ever heard of the Illinois Policy Institute?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:08 pm:
===…ever heard of the Illinois Policy Institute?===
They line em up, they get knocked down.
#InstitutionalKnowledgeWinsAgain
- OpentoDiscussion - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:31 pm:
I firmly believe that the demise of Unions has been a negative force for the middle class.
However, the CTU is a Poster Boy/Girl as to how so many unions have lost their way.
- Steve - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:33 pm:
- supplied_demand -
Private sector workers aren’t forced to live in a geographic boundary. Why should city workers have less rights? Some towns have 25 miles limits on their city workforce. That seems totally realistic.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
===Private sector workers aren’t forced to live in a geographic boundary. Why should city workers have less rights===
A city job is not a right.
You’re welcome.
- Enviro - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:57 pm:
I agree with Adam @ 11:55 am:”Conditions in CPS schools are miserable, chaotic, unstable as a result of decades of policy decisions. Average teachers cannot focus on what’s best for students, and want for their students what kids in Evanston, Naperville, Elmwood Park are afforded.”
Is it unreasonable for Chicago public school teachers to want for their students what kids in Evanston, Naperville, Elmwood Park have in their schools?
Smaller class size, school librarians, nurses, and psychologists make learning conditions better for the students and the teachers.
This is our best hope to help Chicago children stay out of the gangs that plague the neighborhoods in Chicago.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 2:57 pm:
actually we can argue about construction workers and superintendents. add to the list.
- Wait a minute though - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 3:08 pm:
They are mandated to live in the city right? But cannot afford to live in the city unless they receive a housing choice voucher, some other government subsidy or work a second job. How is that fair? And before you tell me there are lots of affordable housing opportunities in Chicago: would you live there? People get real. Give the teacher’s a chance to do their jobs by providing them the tools they need, a decent livable wage and a great learning environment to help students be successful.
- Big Jim - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 3:14 pm:
CTU wants to strike for 3 days just to show they can. There is nothing the Mayor can do about it. She can promise 10% raises per year and a Ferrari in every CTU garage and they will complain about the gas mileage.
The City is not dealing with a rational counterparty.
- Ipso Facto - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 3:51 pm:
Re “Rational counter-part”
The CTU is more than likely providing Lightfoot both political cover for an eventual tax hike, but also saving CPS from itself. Given the next school shooting and the rush to call it “a mental health crisis”, the CTU will allow Lorri to message herself ahead of the curve with the added Social Workers. And, without Nurses, CPS is one diabetic coma away from a new Corey H settlement.
No need for thanks on this one, Lorri.
- Big Jim - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 3:54 pm:
@Ipso
Corey H had to do with integrating special education students into all school activities and classrooms, not a personal injury settlement.
- Ipso Facto - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:00 pm:
@ Big Jim
Given the fungible nature of City finances and the ever increasing costs of Special Wd. Add the current ISBE oversight of denied services, I’d say that the proffered distinction is a fiscal distinction without merit.
- Big Jim - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:03 pm:
In addition to the valid points made above about the CTU viewing themselves as a social justice organization (at least under its present leadership), they are now attempting to utilize the contract to leverage their power to legislate policy initiatives.
This seems to be an outgrowth of their endorsed candidate getting thumped at the hustings. Rahm came across as mean to a leader that had a lot of respect and popularity amongst everyday Chicagoans.
Lori comes across as rational and (overly) fair to a leader (or two) that are coming across as insane (to the extent they are even known).
I suspect the CTU will strike because not doing so will put send their power to its nadir. I would caution them to keep it brief - this City will make its mind up quickly…
- Big Jim - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:04 pm:
@Ipso
IDEA funding is not fungible. Not a fiscal distinction without merit whatsoever. You made it sound like the Corey H case was the result of some injury or death which couldn’t be farther from the truth.
- dbk - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:08 pm:
CTU is testing the waters for metropolitan school districts nationwide, I suspect. This is AFAIK a pretty new approach.
There are now districts/cities where teachers cannot afford to live, and CTU can see the writing on the wall.
That’s one part.
The other part has to do with the homeless students in the CPS system, which is generalized across major metropolitan districts (e.g., NYC. LAUSD).
CTU is deemed the most progressive teachers’ union in the U.S. I suspect they’re testing new bargaining issues for fellow-districts where teachers are already priced out of the housing market, and where there is an equal/greater number of homeless students (NYC, LA).
Chicago is gentrifying and has been for decades. There are more homeless students and there are now teachers who cannot afford to live in the district where they teach.
I rather doubt that these issues are negotiable, but it’s not entirely clear to me that that’s the point - I suspect the point may be to get a national conversation started.
I think it’s pretty safe to assume that CTU leadership is in close contact with their peers in NYC, Boston, LA, Boston, Portland, Seattle, etc.
Just a hypothesis which occurred to me when considering the teacher shortage in SF in particular, which has now become chronic due to the fact that teachers can no longer afford to live anywhere near SF.
See for example: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/California-s-teacher-housing-crunch-More-13783401.php
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:13 pm:
CPS teachers are highly compensated. The median rent in Chicago is less than $1100 per month. What is the median CPS teacher salary? One can find 2 bedrooms in nice, safe areas for $1200.
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:16 pm:
If CPS consolidated more schools and was able to do away with redundant administration of those schools, it would be much easier to fund a few extra social workers or librarians.
- Ipso Facto - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:21 pm:
@ Big Jim
I’m not entirely clear on the point you are making. A fiscal one or a legal one.
Special Ed expenditure is the result of students enrolled. Sure. And Corey H -thought overidentification was the issue, it cost the district in both settlement cost and man hours to implement the findings.
Currently, as you know SSCA is the result of underidentification. And this is a large cost to CPS in resources.
The next lawsuit will undoubtedly come from some student falling ill and dying (cf. the cost to the District when they fished the student out of the pool at I believe Kelly HS) in a school “without” a nurse. The Sun Times was all over this issue. And, for an aggrieved family with a shrewd personal injury lawyer? Others will pile on.
Make no mistake, the CTU is doing Lori a favor.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:22 pm:
===If CPS consolidated more schools===
CPS recently closed 50, five, zero, schools
- Ed Equity - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:28 pm:
Let the Chicago Housing Authority bargain related to housing.
At least they have the priorities right for kids
https://www.thecha.org/residents/services/school-options
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:48 pm:
Oswego Willy, I understand that 50 schools were closed a few years ago. But it wasn’t enough then and more need to be closed now. CPS continues to lose thousands of students a year. I think they will be releasing 2019 enrollment numbers soon and I imagine we will see further decline in enrollment.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 4:52 pm:
- Rudiforte -
Try this for size.
shorturl.at/hkLT6
===The study is the first in-depth examination of the impact of the 50 school closings — the largest number closed at once in the United States. Some 11,000 students attended the closed schools, and another 13,000 students attended the schools that received them. All told, 95 schools buildings were packed up and moved.
“Closing schools — even poorly performing ones — does not improve the outcome of displaced children, on average,” the study concludes. “Closing under-enrolled schools may seem like a viable solution to policymakers who seek to address fiscal deficits and declining enrollment, but our findings shows that closing schools caused large disruptions without clear benefits for students.”
Emanuel did not comment on the findings. CPS had said that closing the 50 schools would save $43 million annually and $437 million over time by not having to fix or maintain the shuttered buildings. But the school district has never provided any detailed information on whether those savings were or will be realized.===
What else ya got?
- Rudiforte - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 5:01 pm:
Losing 10,000 students a year and keeping failing, nearly empty schools open is not the answer. You know that this is not sustainable. CPS needs to right size, especially given CTU monetary demands.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 5:02 pm:
- Rudiforte -
So you didn’t read it, lol.
Got it, thanks.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 6:02 pm:
===I distinctly recall a demand for reform of unsustainable pensions that was agreed to by Springfield Democrats as a condition for more CPS funding before the the Speaker changed his mind.===
Use your words, - Lucky Pierre -
Is this that pension thingy that Rauner could the get 60 to support, lol
Heck, Rauner himself caved to CTU, the Chicago Sun-Times had a headline.
“Benedict Rauner”
Are you Bruce Rauner?
This is the only thing i can think with your blind loyalty to a quitter and a failure that lost by the largest margin by a sitting Republican Governor in 100 years.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 7:01 pm:
“Greedy teachers want to end homelessness.”
Good luck with that.
@Rudiforte - The solution to declining enrollment is to improve the schools, not close them. Government fails by funding programs just well enough to fail, instead of funding them to succeed.
- DuPage - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 8:58 pm:
No legitimate reason to require the teachers to live in Chicago.
- Right Field - Wednesday, Oct 9, 19 @ 10:51 pm:
== I am pretty sure that CTU is not allowed to strike over “affordable housing issues”==
No, they can’t… but they can refuse to TA the other items they can strike over until they get what they want in other areas. Happens all the time.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 5:32 am:
Boarding schools like in jolly old England.
Some of the schools are so massive, three blocks and a three or four floor structure. Why not make some magnet boarding schools with dorms on top and classes below? The top floor already has a roof, walls, plumbing, heat, a sprinkler system, add in some studs and drywall and doors and you got yourself a dorm.
Why are we pretending that homeless children aren’t being distracted and stressed and are able to learn?
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 7:04 am:
This isn’t about housing for teachers necessarily. There are 17,000 homeless students in Chicago Public schools, yet the city just spent $1.3 billion TIF money on the Lincoln Yards private development and what ….another $1 billion on the ‘78’ TIF private development?
The city makes choices. These impact the mostly Black and Latino students in CPS schools. Average teachers deal daily w the problems homeless kids bring to the classroom. They know these kids and they care.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 8:00 am:
When homeless kids come to school hungry, sleep deprived and worse, it’s pretty doubtful the top thing on their minds is learning well. Yet we hold their teachers responsible for their achievement. As if one single teacher can magically transform all the life problems of tons of kids. The deck is stacked here against everyone involved. Add in compassion that most teachers feel and you see where things are.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 8:21 am:
Yellow Dog, people are leaving crime ridden areas of Chicago in droves. More money isn’t going to change that.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 8:22 am:
There aren’t 17,000 homeless kids in Chicago. That is complete nonsense. I would love to see how CTU arrived at that number.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 8:24 am:
TIF doesn’t take money from CPS. Not sure where you get that from. In fact TIF creates real estate value that is used to further economic development and tax revenue.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 8:36 am:
===TIF doesn’t take money from CPS.===
Yes, it does.
As you remind us, there’s only so much money.
TIFs take monies away that could go to schools that schools need to find.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 10:20 am:
It took me two seconds to google this: According to the CPS office of Students in Temporary Living Situations, 17,894 homeless Chicago children and teens attended CPS-run schools in the 2017-2018 school year. This is 1.2%, or 223 students, fewer than the prior school year, but total CPS enrollment also dropped.Jul 30, 2018
Homeless here is defined as temporary living situations not necessarily sleeping outside.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 10:26 am:
As suspected, the 17,000 homeless figure is not true. And CPS has taxing authority and each year gets what it asks for from property taxes. TIF does not take money from CPS.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 10:28 am:
===As suspected, the 17,000 homeless figure is not true===
Really, cite please.
Thanks.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 10:29 am:
===TIF does not take money from CPS.===
Any property not paying taxes is taking monies away.
Otherwise, why have the TIF
Keep up
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 11:03 am:
==As suspected, the 17,000 homeless figure is not true.== I get the first part, it was suspected. How did you decide the second part, that it was untrue?
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 11:21 am:
Willy, property in TIFs pay real estate taxes. When was the last time CPS didn’t get the tax levy it requested?
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 11:25 am:
The definition used is not for homelessness. Living with family or friends is not homeless. About 2,000 can be defined as homeless. And again, CPS is not a housing provider so, the while thing is ridiculous.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 11:41 am:
===The definition used is not for homelessness. Living with family or friends is not homeless.===
It’s not their home, they’re a guest.
===About 2,000 can be defined as homeless.===
Next time, say “only 2000”, so you sound as ridiculous as your assumptions.
===property in TIFs pay real estate taxes.===
TIFs pay the going rate or a reduced rate?
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:10 pm:
All property in Chicago whether in a TIF or not is assessed and taxed on the same terms. Keep up as you like to say.
I know of virtually no kids anywhere that have a home of their own. Again, keep up. Living with a relative is not homeless.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:12 pm:
88% of the so called 17,000 homeless live with friends and family.
When was the last time CPS didn’t receive the tax levy it requested?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:14 pm:
===Again, keep up. Living with a relative is not homeless===
People who wind up on the streets tend to bounce around at first from relatives to friends and then they run out of places to go. And living on a friend’s sofa is, in fact, homelessness.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:17 pm:
===All property in Chicago whether in a TIF or not is assessed and taxed on the same terms.===
Hmm.
Explain a TIF.
Thanks.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:19 pm:
===When was the last time CPS didn’t receive the tax levy it requested?===
When TIFs are created.
You’re welcome.
- Ben - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:19 pm:
“There are also kids that lack sufficient healthcare, don’t get a warm dinner every night, and don’t get a puppy for Christmas. Is the CTU is now going to strike on those issues as well?”
CTU does have access to healthcare on the table! And being a homeless child is not comparable to being a puppyless child. Listen to yourself.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 12:22 pm:
===All property in Chicago whether in a TIF or not is assessed and taxed on the same terms.===
If they’re the same, I’ll expect you to support ending TIFs
There’s no difference, “same terms”, as you say.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:38 pm:
==And again, CPS is not a housing provider so, the whole thing is ridiculous.==
Maybe they should be. Since homelessness of many of their students is a problem.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:50 pm:
CPS gets the tax levy it requests from real estate taxes every year. Even since the Advent of TIF. Keep up.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:51 pm:
===CPS gets the tax levy it requests from real estate taxes every year. Even since the Advent of TIF.===
Explain TIF.
That was the ask.
Thanks.
- Rudiforte - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:52 pm:
I’m happy to state with conviction that CPS is not qualified no provide housing for approximately 2,000 homeless kids nor should it. But most importantly IT NEVER WILL.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:57 pm:
===Nah, I’ll let you figure it out on your own===
So you can’t explain it? Makes your argument quite weak, LOL
===Still waiting for the year CPS didn’t get the tax levy it requested===
Explain TIF
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 1:59 pm:
Here’s the “think tank” IPI… to help you on that TIF thingy you can’t explain.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/chicago-tifs-take-nearly-500m-in-yearly-tax-revenues-away-from-other-local-governments/
LOL
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 2:05 pm:
Personally, I trust Daniel Kay Hertz and Amanda Kass far more than IPI, so I fall here;
https://www.google.com/amp/s/danielkayhertz.com/2018/09/20/are-tifs-taking-money-away-from-the-city/amp/
Like here;
===We say “for the most part,” though, because for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), TIFs do divert some funds from the regular budget to special funds.
That’s because unlike the City of Chicago—which can set its property tax levy at whatever amount it wants—CPS is constrained by Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). In general, PTELL limits the amount CPS can increase its levy by the lesser of 5% or inflation (CPI).
But there’s a loophole: new construction is not subject to the PTELL cap, and thus a boom in new construction can generate increased revenue for CPS. But TIF districts can get in the way of that loophole by capturing the property values of new construction in their increments, and holding them off-limits to CPS. So if TIF were to end tomorrow, CPS could increase its property tax levy beyond the current PTELL maximum thanks to the value of new construction===
So, can you explain TIFs or not?
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 5:06 pm:
One more thing regarding TIF: the presence of TIF districts doesn’t alleviate a local government or agency of their need for revenue. These entities still have jobs to do. So, while RE Taxes in a TIF district are funneled into that off-limits TIF fund, the taxpayers elsewhere in that municipality must make up the difference, hence - higher taxes all around.
At least this is my understanding.
Why this matters? The discussion earlier had to do with homeless kids - and the policy decisions Chicago elected officials make, and these choices’ impacts on young people, and education.
Kids in Chicago don’t have stable schools, with rich curricula, social workers, libraries and arts classes as a result of policy decisions. Every year - there’s a churning of teachers and staff. No predictability from one year to the next. None of this is good for kids or the communities they live in.
Over $2 billion committed for the TIF projects mentioned. Chicago, if it had the will, could do better.
- Ashland Adam - Thursday, Oct 10, 19 @ 5:32 pm:
“Chicago, if it had the will, could do better”….Could do better for kids, that is.
Conditions in schools are chaotic, in chronic crisis mode no matter who the adult in the classroom is. Average CPS Teachers, who are the CTU, know that they are powerless over CPS and the policies CPS has implemented.
Problems in Public Ed are bigger than average teachers. They’re the result of plans crafted by the likes of Ken Griffin, Bruce Rauner, and others who move at those levels of finance and government.
CPS teachers cannot negotiate their way out of the disasters that are/were NCLB, ESSA and Illinois ‘education reforms’,government austerity, but they feel they have to try.
Of course, in the suburbs or downstate, a school district board may be more responsive to parent and community input, but in the suburbs and downstate, they can elect the boards of education. Can Chicagoans?
Also, as mentioned previously, educators in suburban and downstate schools can bargain some conditions in schools. Chicago teachers cannot, do to a ‘reform’ passed in 1995, that limits CPS-CTU negotiations - mostly to wage, salary and benefits.
Chicago teachers have few opportunities to be heard. Striking is a risk, but it does focus people’s attention.