* This is a rather odd way of saying that Mayor Lightfoot slashed the CPS budget by hundreds of millions of dollars…

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has also shifted other expenses from the city budget to CPS. Those include non-teacher pensions — a cost that has grown every year and which CPS officials project to reach $315 million by 2026 — and crossing guards and school police officers, worth $30 million combined. The mayor gave CPS more TIF dollars but not enough to cover the shifting costs.

And now CPS wants a state bailout.

In my opinion, the city ought to put that money back before there’s any talk of additional funding.

* Brandon Johnson press release…

Commissioner Brandon Johnson released the following statement on a breaking news story detailing Paul Vallas’ severe mismanagement of Chicago Public Schools finances:

“This report makes clear that Paul Vallas failed Chicago students and families while benefitting his Wall Street donors. Paul Vallas betrayed Chicago just like he betrayed Philadelphia and New Orleans school systems. His trail of destruction must come to an end. Paul Vallas must not be allowed to continue failing up. The people of Chicago deserve fully funded neighborhood schools, not financial schemes that enrich Wall Street while leading to higher property taxes for Chicago’s working families.”

The report, detailed in a news story tonight, shows that Vallas issued $666 million worth of so-called “payday loan” bonds that resulted in $1.5 billion in interest payments — an effective interest rate of 223 percent. These massive loan payments then went to the same Wall Street banks and huge fund donors that now back Vallas’ campaign.

The full news report is here.

* Paul Vallas press release…

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is releasing a new television ad that shows exactly how dangerous his opponent Brandon Johnson’s plans to defund the police would be for Chicago. “911 Unanswered” highlights the 21,000 high priority emergency calls that were not responded to by the Chicago Police Department last year due to a lack of available officers or cars. If Johnson has his way and makes deep cuts to the police, the city’s manpower crisis will become even more acute and response times will get worse, putting Chicagoans in danger.

The ad is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOjYa-ZkgAU

“Chicago has an immediate public safety crisis that the next Mayor must address, and cutting the police budget like Brandon Johnson supports will only make this devastating situation worse,” said Vallas. “The only way to make our neighborhoods safer and reduce response times is to adopt a true community policing strategy, put more officers onto the local beats and rebuild trust between the police and the residents. That will be my focus on day one as Mayor.”

I don’t think that spot has the pop of previous Vallas ads.

* WTTW looks at Vallas’ pledge to convince “hundreds” of retired Chicago police officers to return to the force…

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass backed plans to rehire 200 retired police officers in January. However, representatives of the police union representing Los Angeles officers said there had been very little interest from retired officers, according to the Los Angeles Times. The department has yet to announce if any officers have rejoined the Los Angeles Police Department.

Vallas’ promise is “uniformed, naïve or dishonest,” said Tom Needham, who served as the top lawyer for the Chicago Police Department between 1998 and 2002. He now operates his own law firm and is not publicly supporting a candidate for mayor.

“It is just not going to happen,” Needham said. “He should stop saying this or offer some proof.”

Most officers decide to retire for a host of reasons after they serve at least 29 years and one day on the force, ensuring they maximize their pension benefits, said Needham, a resident of Edison Park who comes from a family of police officers. Officers also face a mandatory retirement age of 63, according to departmental policy.

“I don’t believe guys up and retire because of who is in the mayor’s office,” Needham said. “They definitely grouse about it, though.”

* Vallas…

Former Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama and longtime Chicago civic leader Arne Duncan is endorsing Paul Vallas for Mayor. The founder of the non-violence organization CRED and a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools who succeeded Vallas in the position, Duncan made his endorsement in a Chicago Tribune Op-Ed piece that ran this morning and read in part:

“… Paul Vallas would be the best person to push CPD into the modern age and bring change to a toxic, broken police culture. Vallas comes from a family of police and, as an unpaid adviser to the FOP and the union representing police sergeants, he negotiated meaningful reforms in both contracts. … given the desperate need to reform CPD, tell police the truth and hold them accountable, Vallas is our best hope for a safer Chicago.”

Duncan is the latest high-profile Democratic leader to back Vallas’ campaign, joining former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, former Congressman Bobby Rush, a plethora of local Aldermen representing all corners of the city and more.

“I have known Arne Duncan for many years and the work he has done as an education leader in Chicago and alongside President Obama in Washington has positively impacted the lives of millions of students,” said Vallas. “I have the deepest respect and admiration for Arne’s commitment to frontline work on violence prevention and re-entry support programming in our long-neglected South and West Side neighborhoods. Arne is absolutely right that our city needs a leader who has the confidence of the rank and file police in order to make the changes necessary at the department to not only make Chicago safer, but to repair the broken relationship between the police and the community. I’m grateful to Arne Duncan for supporting my campaign.”

* Johnson yesterday…

Today, former Cook County Clerk David Orr endorsed Brandon Johnson for mayor.

“I’m proud to support Brandon Johnson for mayor and believe he is the right candidate to provide thoughtful, ethical leadership for the city of Chicago,” said Orr. “Commissioner Johnson has the passion and principles to be the effective leader our city needs in this moment.”

Orr served as Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018, and prior to his tenure as Clerk, as Alderman of the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. In 2018, Orr created Good Government Illinois, a political action committee to support election reform, campaign finance reform, and candidates that share good governance values.

“I’m humbled to be endorsed by Clerk Orr and am grateful for his dedication to lifting up local good government leaders,” said Commissioner Johnson. “Clerk Orr honorably served the people of Cook County and Chicago for decades and I am grateful for his wisdom and support.”

* Rep. Mah…

The first Asian American leader elected to the Illinois General Assembly, Rep. Theresa Mah—whose district overlaps with the 11th Ward communities of Armour Square, Bridgeport, Chinatown and McKinley Park—issued the following statement in response to 11th Ward aldermanic candidate Anthony Ciaravino’s comments on WBEZ dismissing the importance of Asian representation on City Council:

“After years of organizing, agitating and fighting for representation on the Chicago City Council, the Asian American community finally saw our dream realized last year with the redistricting of the new 11th Ward–the city’s first Asian-majority ward, with Chinatown as its centerpiece. It was a crucial moment that finally recognized the importance of our community’s contributions, and ensured our interests would be effectively represented in City Hall.

“That’s why it was profoundly disturbing to hear 11th Ward aldermanic candidate Anthony Ciaravino on WBEZ saying he does not see the value in Asian representation on City Council.

“In the report, WBEZ reporter Esther Yoon-Ji Kang asked Mr. Ciaravino: ‘What is your response to [Chinatown community members’] hopes for Asian representation. Is that important at all?’ Mr. Ciaravino responded: ‘I don’t think so.’

“Whether it relates to public safety, language access, small business support, social services or City service delivery, our community has unique needs that must be addressed by a leader who respects and understands them. This statement from a person seeking to represent the 11th Ward is appalling and offensive. Our community must act affirmatively to wholly reject his candidacy on April 4.”

Ciaravino is running against Ald. Nicole Lee, the first Asian American woman and first Chinese American member of the City Council.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Sun-Times | Paul Vallas: From playing with ‘imaginary friends’ to tackling ‘big, nearly impossible tasks’: A shy boy with a severe stutter in the Roseland neighborhood, Paul Vallas grew up to lead school districts in Chicago, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Haiti and Chile. He also ran a string of failed bids for elected office. “Paul gravitates towards big challenges,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly.

* WBEZ | Brandon Johnson’s rise from relative unknown to mayoral contender was guided by his faith: The middle child in a family of 10 kids, Johnson jokes on the campaign trail that he learned his negotiating skills by growing up in a three-bedroom Elgin home with just one bathroom.

* Sun-Times | Progressive icon Bernie Sanders to hold preelection rally for Brandon Johnson: Johnson adviser Bill Neidhardt refused to say whether progressive political icon Elizabeth Warren would be among those in attendance. He would only way that “more speakers” would be announced over the next week.

* NBC Chicago | New Chicago Mayoral Poll Shows Vallas, Johnson Even Tighter Than Before: Notable is the percentage of respondents who said they were undecided. That number also dropped from 16% to 9.6%, according to the poll. In addition, respondents were asked if their “mind is made up” or if they could change their answers before April 4 and 15.5% said they could still change their mind.

* Arne Duncan | Chicago needs a mayor who will tell CPD and its union the hard truth: For too long, the Chicago Police Department has had a go-it-alone mentality about fighting crime with big specialized units aggressively descending on high-crime neighborhoods like an invading force. The predictable result of this approach is lack of trust and angry, frustrated communities.

* Block Club | Who Wanted To Move Taste Of Chicago From Grant Park? Park District Hides Details In Public Records: Block Club submitted a public records request March 7 to the Park District asking for officials’ emails containing key words such as “Taste of Chicago” and “Grant Park.” Two weeks later, the agency released 121 pages of emails. Almost all of them were redacted, making it impossible to see the contents.

* Crain’s | Both Salesforce and Facebook parent Meta aim to unload big chunks of Chicago office space: Tech giant Salesforce and Facebook parent company Meta are marketing a combined 240,000 square feet of downtown Chicago office space for sublease, a pair of cost-cutting moves as both companies undergo painful rounds of layoffs.

* Block Club | 48th Ward Candidates Talk Public Safety, Housing And Favorite Restaurants At Edgewater Forum: Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth said her top priorities are housing affordability, economic development and health care, while Joe Dunne said he would focus on affordable housing and repealing the automatic property tax increase.

* Sun-Times | BUILD Chicago opens home-away-from-home for West Side youth: BUILD Chicago’s new youth and family center in Austin is free and open to the public. There’s a laundry room, a restorative justice program and a farm, among other things.

* Block Club | Mental Health Services Are Now Available In Some Chicago Libraries: The program is part of the Department of Public Health’s work to expand its mental health work in all of Chicago’s 77 community areas, according to a news release. The agency’s mental health clinicians will be able to serve people 13 and older regardless of their ability to pay, insurance or immigration status.

* CBS Chicago | Snowplows to partake in parade showcasing contest winners’ nameplates: They’re officially named and now Chicago’s snowplows are hitting the streets in a special parade to showcase their new monikers. […] They’ll be showing off new nameplates by taking a spin around the salt dome on Grand Avenue at 10 a.m.

* Block Club | City Officials Blocked Land Sale To Help Michael Reese Megadevelopment, Lawsuit Says: King Sykes LLC said city leaders thwarted a $30 million deal to sell the land to a data center operator, then offered a lowball deal to scoop up the land for the megadevelopment.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago potholes: Is filing a damage claim with the city worth it?: It’s spring, which means it’s pothole season. They can cause hundreds of dollars in damage to vehicles. You can file a claim with the city if you hit a Chicago pothole, but is it worth it? The I-Team found that less than half of last year’s pothole claims have been cleared for payout.

* Sun-Times | Southwest Side activists call on next mayor to address pollution: ‘We have to change this’: “We have 10 times the amount of pollution here on the South Side than anywhere else in the city,” Southwest Environmental Alliance Chairperson Theresa Reyes said at a rally outside MAT Asphalt at 2055 W. Pershing Road. “The pollution isn’t distributed evenly across the city. Where is it? Here. That ain’t right.”

* Block Club | Englewood’s Save A Lot Will Open ‘As Soon As Possible,’ Replacing Closed Whole Foods Market: Neighbors were told at a 16th Ward grocery steering committee meeting last week that Save A Lot would host a “soft opening” March 28 and a “hard launch” in mid-May, members of Resident Association of Greater Englewood said at their meeting Tuesday. A representative from Yellow Banana did not directly share the dates at the ward meeting, attendees said.

* Block Club | A $70 Million Outpatient Care Center Could Come To The West Side In 2025 From Rush Oak Park Hospital: The three-story site will have 90 rooms for exam, consulting and procedure purposes, and it will provide urgent care, cancer, neurology and cardiology services, according to a news release. A grocery store could be attached, though details about that have not yet been disclosed.

* WGN | ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ show coming to Adler Planetarium: “It really is a space show,” said Adler Sr. Director of Theaters & Visualization Mike Smail. “You will really see a lot of the same beautiful space as in our international productions.” “It promises to be immersive; an all-encompassing surround sound and visual treat that will transcend reality and take you way beyond the realms of 2D experience,” part of a statement from Pink Floyd said.

* Crain’s | Hispanic homeownership in the Chicago area is unusually high. Here’s why: Of the region’s Hispanic households, 58% own their homes, according to data out this month from the National Association of Realtors. That’s 7 percentage points higher than the national rate of Hispanic homeownership, 50.6%. The figures for Asian, Black and white homeownership in the Chicago area are all within about 2 percentage points of the national figure.

* WTTW | Chicago Parks Are on Fire, and That’s a Good Thing: In recent weeks, the district has conducted prescribed burns at Rainbow Beach and Park 566 on the far south lakefront, two of the 15 parks targeted during a burn season that started in late November and is now coming to a close, according to Matt Freer, assistant director of landscape.