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Kennedy “strategic gentrification” blast coincides with CTU’s Englewood protest

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• Illinois

* From yesterday…

Kennedy cited as an example of the “strategic gentrification plan” a move by CPS to close four South Side high schools for a year before a new school opens in 2019.

“I don’t know what you can say when the strategic plan for Chicago Public Schools suggest that the entire community of Englewood can go an entire year without access to a high school,” he said.

“What are you saying to the people there? No one’s going to move there who’s got a high school kid. And anybody with a high school kid has to think about what they’re going to do. It’s just a device to empty out the community,” he said. […]

Federal census figures show that in 2010, a year before Emanuel was first elected mayor, Chicago’s African-American population totaled 895,294, or 33.2 percent. Census data released last year showed the number of black residents declining to 793,852, representing about 29.3 percent of the city’s population.

That continued a long-term decline in African-American population, as Chicago also lost 177,404 black residents between 2000 and 2010, census figures showed.

* The Englewood issue and gentrification are big CTU issues. Retweeted today by the Chicago Teachers Union…

* Related…

* CTU: Abandonment or Revival? What to Expect from a New High School in Englewood

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:22 pm

Comments

1. Can’t wait to have a laugh when CTU endorses Rahm-ally J.B. Pritzker.

   Comment by Pritzker Plumbers Inc. Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:27 pm

2. I don’t think any one thinks what Kennedy said will hurt him. Quite the contrary, people are asking why Biss didn’t have the cojones to say it earlier.

   Comment by Grand Avenue Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:28 pm

3. ===when CTU endorses Rahm-ally J.B.===

   I would bet against that. The union is pretty close to MJM, so maybe they stay neutral. But it’s pretty small “d” democratic on this stuff, so they may go with Kennedy now. Who knows?

   Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:30 pm

4. ==Can’t wait to have a laugh when CTU endorses Rahm-ally J.B. Pritzker.==

   Doesn’t seem likely based on Lewis’ previous comments. They may just stay out, but if they endorse, I’d guess they go for Kennedy.

   Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:34 pm

5. Reading the Trib’s in-depth piece on the children and families who are in these schools, it doesn’t sound like those schools are providing a top-notch education. Most families have opted to go elsewhere.

   Comment by Molly Maguire Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:37 pm

6. Stories like this are just a hoot. elections are coming so now we start up all the righteous indignation and the pointing of fingers. CPS and CTU have been willing allies for years in the delivery of substandard education to students in the CPS system. The have both allowed the waste of millions and refused to adjust to the realities of the student population. Nobody in Englewood will be going without a high school. Just not one in their neighborhood. If the union and the activists really cared they would have been doing many things differently over the years but they haven’t. I feel for parents who feel trapped in that system. there are good schools and there are good teachers but until you change the structure of leadership, both of the district and of the union nothing substantial will change.

   Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:39 pm

7. Pritzker’s foundation & Goldman Sachs are involved in some school reformer approved investment scheme where they make money when there are less kids in CTU special needs education, so I don’t think CPS will go with him in the primary

   http://chicagoreporter.com/investors-earn-max-initial-payment-from-chicagos-social-impact-bond/

   Comment by Fax Machine Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:42 pm

8. CTU can’t afford to have its members sit on the sidelines in the general election like they did last time. If they endorse and their candidate doesn’t win the primary, this scenario becomes more likely. I think they don’t endorse and put the push on to get rid of Rauner in the general.

   Comment by huh Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:48 pm

9. This story has made it onto Diane Ravitch - she’s the most-read national education blogger in the country:
   https://dianeravitch.net/2018/01/04/chicago-fight-back-against-rahms-school-closings/comment-page-1/#comment-2773709

   Comment by dbk Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:52 pm

10. Population loss is accute in Engelwood. So is property abandonment. The neighborhood has been on a downward spiral. The city is managing the decline as people are increasingly avoiding the area. Tearing down hopeless structures. Reinvesting arround Kennedy King college.

    Comment by Sputnik Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:56 pm

11. ==CTU can’t afford to have its members sit on the sidelines in the general election like they did last time. If they endorse and their candidate doesn’t win the primary, this scenario becomes more likely. ==

    That makes some sense, but I don’t know if CTU’s members would really sit on their hands if the candidate their leadership endorsed didn’t win the primary.

    Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:57 pm

12. @Huh:

    Most of the interesting Chicago aldermanic contests in 2015 saw the CTU pushing various candidates. Alderman Deb Mell (33rd) almost got knocked off. Garcia was also promoted by the CTU and as a late entry he forced Rahm into an expensive run-off.

    Comment by Say What? Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:58 pm

13. ==CTU can’t afford to have its members sit on the sidelines in the general election like they did last time. If they endorse and their candidate doesn’t win the primary, this scenario becomes more likely. ==

    But frankly, if CTU doesn’t endorse, this’ll probably be why. Otherwise, everything else just screams “Kennedy” too much- this issue, Chuy, Lewis’ comments about JB, Biss’ problems with public sector unions.

    Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:59 pm

14. IFT has endorsed JB, which is interesting because CTU make up a big portion of IFT membership and usually has a big say in the endorsement process. Are Dan Montgomery and Karen Lewis not on the same page…or are they covering their all their bases?

    Comment by Roman Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:05 pm

15. Well timed vacation for Mayor Emanuel. Chicagoans are freezing. He is under hourly criticism and only his surrogates are available to defend him.

    Comment by W Flag Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:08 pm

16. Rahm accusing Kennedy of aligning with Rauner and Trump over this is the most rediculous thing ever coming out of City Hall

    Comment by Sue Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:14 pm

17. Those schools need to close. They have virtually no students.

    Comment by Ron Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:16 pm

18. Closing a half-empty school is a hate crime now? CTU members might be terrible at teaching, but they are excellent at hyperbole. What exactly would be the upside for Emanuel intentionally driving members of his voting base out of the city? Surely they don’t believe he beat Chuy with votes from just the white people who reside in Chicago. I don’t doubt the effect his policies are having on Englewood, but this whole thing has the air of conspiracy theory run amok.

    Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:24 pm

19. Four schools closing:

    Harper HS: 2006 enrollment 1,301. 2016 enrollment 167. Deferred maintenance cost: Harper: $38.7 M.

    Hope HS 2006 enrollment 1,015. 2016 enrollment 136. Deferred maintenance: $15.7 M.

    Robeson 2006 enrollment 1,301. 2016 enrollment 151. Deferred maintenance: $35 M.

    Team Engelwood 2006 enrollment 696. 2016 enrollment 160. Deferred maintenance: $26.4 M.

    Comment by midway gardens Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:25 pm

20. Dare anyone ask what the research says is best when it comes to minority students and charter schools:

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2015/01/11/charter-success/#5875d6b2dbf4

    Anyone think that Karen Lewis and CTU would be fighting Rahm if gentrification was bringing in large families and increasing demand for teachers and raising teacher wages?

    Does highlight the spoiler nature of the Biss campaign though.

    Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:34 pm

21. A few years ago I had an intern who was a young AA woman from the south side, a very loyal and progressive democrat. Her answer to everything happening in Chicago was “Rahm hates black people.” And if questioned she would always follow that “everyone where I live knows it’s true.”

    Kennedy is tapping into something here. There’s a real market here for an outsider democrat. Biss’s own future political aspirations won’t let him throw the heavy stones, but Kennedy is stepping up. Still seems surreal that a Kennedy is the political outsider, but it might sell. If he could combine this with something that connects with people outside Chicago it could be the beginning of a comeback.

    Comment by m Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:38 pm

22. Spending millions on half/quarter empty schools is bad for students, teachers, & taxpayers. Kennedy may have something with this issue, but even teachers pay property taxes and know half full schools is not sustainable. Rahm needs to show it’s not racist by closing/consolidating all the half empty schools. MRE is too much of a coward to try.

    Comment by Rutro Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:52 pm

23. Reading this, I’m reminded of why I pulled my kids out of CPS.

    There are some good teachers, but overall both the administration and the union have gone off the deep end.

    Comment by Gooner Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 2:00 pm

24. This very concerning to me. Very concerning.

    Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 3:49 pm

25. Honest Question: What does a typical school day look like for the 10 freshmen at TEAM Englewood High School? Do all 10 kids attend the same classes? Does each class have a subset of kids that are learning different subject matter based on their advancement (like a smart math kid gets more independent study while the teacher focuses on the other 9 students)? Are there electives?

    Do teachers have a full workload? Do they end up teaching multiple subject matters (like math and chemistry) to fill the day?

    Comment by City Zen Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 4:18 pm

26. CTU last year: “The district is broke because administration doesn’t know how to run it”

    CTU this year: “Keep spending money on failing schools at 15% to 20% of their capacity”

    Makes sense.

    Comment by Shemp Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 5:38 pm

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