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Emanuel lashes back at Chicago bashers

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Illinois

* Mayor Emanuel is not happy with the GOP’s recent Chicago bashing…

“How about this? … Give us back all our money and then you go on your way. You don’t get to participate in O’Hare. You don’t get to participate in all the institutions of higher ed here. I don’t think that’s a deal the state wants to cut. So my point is, it’s not really an accurate question. We can’t cut and go our own way, nor are we expecting to go our own way. On the other hand, you can’t keep trying to manage the state without the city of Chicago.”

Emanuel’s comments came as the city versus suburbs and Downstate rhetoric is heating up in the waning days of the spring legislative session. State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said in a radio interview that aired Sunday on WLS-AM that Emanuel needs to shutter a bunch more schools. “But they have 100 more that are really, you know, adult employment centers serving as schools. They need to do more in that regard,” Murphy told reporter Bill Cameron.

With Emanuel’s wife, Amy Rule, looking on from the crowd Wednesday at an event to promote a summer jobs program for at-risk youth, Emanuel was measured in his response to Murphy. “I’ll listen to everybody and have suggestions,” the mayor said. “But it’s probably noted, we did close schools that were failing educationally and were under-enrolled. And we did something that other people never did, and took a big step. I appreciate the counsel from Sen. Murphy.”

Emanuel then repeated his recent shot at Palatine, saying the school district in Murphy’s hometown was able to recently award teachers a 10-year contract with pay raises only because the state is picking up the teacher pension payments there, unlike in Chicago.

* Meanwhile, Democratic Senators who voted for Andy Manar’s school funding reform bill are defending themselves from Illinois Republican Party attacks for voting for a “Chicago public schools bailout”…

“Downstate taxpayers should not be forced to bail out Chicago, and downstate schoolchildren deserve more than to be used as political pawns,” the GOP release said.

“I don’t really give a damn about Chicago,” [Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton] said. “I voted my district. I voted for the schools in my district who do the best they’ve done in recent years by Senator Manar’s bill.” He said Manar’s bill isn’t perfect, but is a good first step.

“The governor’s plan puts $55 million into the school systems, and my districts still lose,” Haine said.

[Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton] said schools in his district gain almost $4 million under Manar’s plan but would lose 35 percent under the governor’s proposal.

“The main reason I voted for this bill was not for up north, but for my district,” Forby said.

* Mark Brown…

Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, voted this week in favor of a new Illinois school funding formula that could cost his hometown’s elementary schools about half the $10 million they now receive in state aid.

You’d better believe that was a tough vote. A principled one, too.

But Harmon, whose Senate district stretches from the Chicago Public Schools-served neighborhoods of Austin and Galewood to the DuPage County enclaves of Addison and Bensenville, said Illinois must begin overhauling its flawed system of distributing education dollars.

I called Harmon on Wednesday because I knew his Senate district encompasses the varying impacts of changing the funding formula — with some communities coming up winners and others losers.

Despite the losers, Harmon believes the bill that advanced Tuesday through the Senate on a partisan 31-21 vote is a good start in the direction of fairness by directing more resources to students that need them the most.

* Related…

* ISBE on failure to take over CPS: Our hands were tied

* Embattled CPS principal details charges against him

* Emanuel blames 40 years of financial neglect for bad poll results

* Emanuel gets rare bit of good financial news

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 11:43 am

Comments

I wish more legislators would take principled votes. Well played, Don Harmon! A good start is better than no start at all (trite, but true).

Comment by Archiesmom Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 11:51 am
Murphy says “adult employment centers” like that’s a bad thing

Comment by tikkunolam Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 11:51 am
You need to see the inequity of it. Mr Harmon did. He can still use ORD. What about Rauner?

Comment by Belle Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 11:53 am
It is a “principle” alright, a vulture principle.

I am pretty sure that all kids have a right to a good education, not just CPS, North Shore, or poor downstate districts. Those of us in the middle that have been hammered by cuts and under funding, especially of MCAT’s, our students have the right too. We are the ones really getting hurt. Our tax rates are among the highest because we rely just enough on the state for funding.

Find. A. Better. Way

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:10 pm
Matt Murphy,

We have plenty of Adult Employment Centers downstate called Prisons. Please release all non-violent offenders and close most of them.

If your so concerned about budget matters, please address this.

Brooks Hatlen

Comment by Brooks Hatlen Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:14 pm
Advice to the Mayor: when you’re asking for free money don’t insult the people who are going to give it to you. Even if you think the money is yours to begin with, they don’t think it is and they’re the ones who will make the decision.

Take your beating and respond with, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”

Comment by Not It Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:15 pm
Though I think Oak Park has an electorate more forgiving of such progressive votes than most suburbs, it’s still a courageous vote.

Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:15 pm
if Chicago got to keep all the inc tax, sales tax, fuel tax, and corp tax they bring in they could pay this easy…. but we take their money and send it downstate

Comment by Ghost Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:24 pm
Instead of the constant “he said, she said,” can’t anyone look at the third grade math behind the distribution of education dollars? If you include pension subsidies (which Sen. Murphy doesn’t want to do), Chicago is clearly shortchanged. Pension subsidies, general state aid, poverty grants–they all go to the same thing–paying teachers and support personnel, including state mandated retirement benefits.

You have to look at the total pot of dollars and see where it comes out. When you do, you can’t ignore the vast and growing differential between Chicago and the rest of the State’s districts (driven by growing pension subsidies to suburban and downstate schools and the absence of those subsidies to Chicago).

Comment by Third Grade Math Teacher Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:24 pm
Let’s cue up the secessionist talk. I bet that Tom Barrett in Milwaukee would up for leaving Wisconsin to join a lake front centered state. Lake County might be a challenge but I’m sure there are plenty of incentives that can be put on the table to convince them. Racine and Kenosha would likely be game as well.

Comment by CLJ Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:43 pm
I’m wondering how all these school districts would react if they had to pay every pension payment due on their own and not let the state pick up the tab - unlike where Chicago gets no pickup whatsoever. I have a feeling there would be revolts!

They should try it for 5 years and see what happens.

Comment by Mr Grumply Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:53 pm
Donny H is truly a very good guy. Nearly impossible not to like.

But, for Oak Park and the city portions of his district, this was not a courageous vote. It was just a vote well in concert with that constituency. In Leyden Twp and DuPage? Well, now there is was a calculated vote.

He’s not a hero or a goat. Just a guy who voted the way he wanted to and was honestly expected to.

Comment by A guy Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 12:59 pm
@ Third Grade Math Teacher-For someone who claims to teach math you sure do struggle with basic addition.

CPS has, for years, received a disproportionate share of education funding. That inequity is only more glaring when you look at outcomes.

PTELL adjustment, Block Grant, SPED Funding, Transportation all out of proportion with how everyone else is funded.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 1:07 pm
Add to my previous post- The CPS pension was lauded for being in such good shape up until just a few years ago, but getting out of whack took 20 years of Daley under funding. Before that is was over funded. This really happened after CPS and Chicago decided it wanted to be treated differently and have its own unique set of rules.

For years the state provided funds to offset the pension costs, what did they do with that money? if I was a city resident, that is what I would be wondering. Maybe they could sell Millennium Park and get some of that money back?

I love Chicago. I lived in the city, I visit often but CPS has not been treated like the proverbial red-headed step child. Everyone wants funding and the politicians are pitting everyone against one another. That provides cover for the politicians to maintain the mess.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 1:13 pm
What’s Rahm going to do? Put up a fence all around Chicago? “Fences” seem to be a big political issue all over these days…….

Does that mean anybody from outside the City of Chicago proper will have to have a temporary visa to go to Cook County government offices?

Limit access to ORD to only City of Chicago residents and Rahm’s friends? You’ve got all these Alt. Revenue Bonds issues out there, which are highly dependent upon fee collections, and now you want to limit those fee collections (Hint: fewer users of ORD services = lower fee collections).

Actually, this could be a reason for IL to finally implement the Real ID Act here in IL. Could also use the new driver’s licenses as the temporary visitor visa into the ‘new’ City of Chicago.

Mr. Mayor - Grow a set. It wasn’t the State of Illinois that created your (City of Chicago & CPS) fiscal problems. You and your predecessors did it to yourselves. You own this one.

Comment by Anon Downstate Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 1:24 pm
=CPS has, for years, received a disproportionate share of education funding. That inequity is only more glaring when you look at outcomes.=

Again, look at the third grade math. You were right a decade ago. You no longer are. Pension subsides to downstate and suburban schools have exploded and CPS has cut and borrowed its way to bankruptcy trying to keep up with those costs.

=For years the state provided funds to offset the pension costs, what did they do with that money?=

Irrelevant. Means nothing to a Chicago student who gets a fraction of the dollars that children elsewhere in the state receive. You can’t punish children for the State allowing Daley to skip payments, and you can’t punish children for the State’s decision to ignore its statutory pledge to pay for Chicago pensions.

Comment by Third Grade Math Teacher Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 1:36 pm
Go ahead and make Chicago the 51st state Mr. Mayor, that would make most downstaters perfectly happy.

Comment by DGD Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 1:58 pm
===that would make most downstaters perfectly happy.===

And seriously broke, seeing as Chicago is the economic engine of the State. It’s been said here many times, Chicago and the suburbs fund the downstate takers.

Comment by TwoFeetThick Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 2:52 pm
Plenty of other small states get by and actually have a surplus - downstate would be the same.

Comment by DGD Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 3:39 pm
I bet Rauner likes the Chicago v. Downstate focus.

Comment by Anony Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 4:40 pm
Thank you Third Grade Math Teacher. Couldnt have said it better myself.

Comment by Chick McGann Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 4:55 pm
@Third Grade- I have looked at the math. you clearly have not seen the full picture. Just curious if you actuall know what the annual cost of the pension is? Seems doubtful.

It isn’t a pension subsidy by the way. If that were the case then I can list numerous subsidies that CPS get that eclipse the total pud as the “employer cost”

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 7:15 pm
I want my property assessed just like the city of chicago

Comment by foster brooks Thursday, May 12, 16 @ 8:34 pm