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Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Stacy does not send her children to public schools. This says it all.
This was a one-sided contract benefiting only the CTU and their bloated membership. There was nothing on the table for Chicago parents except the continued decline in learning and cognitive abilities of CPS students. This was clearly negotiated by parties who lacked any adversarial position. With Mayor Cliff Notes and his minions involved, CTU was effectively negotiating with itself.
Of course it received a 97% approval.
Some math:
Take that 97 and subtract 90. The remainder is Mayor Notes’ approval rating.
There is never enough money for these people. CPS and CTU are a bottomless pit of money flushed down the drain. These people have one interest – getting more. More of everything for themselves. The education system does not work. This has become nothing more than Transportation, Food Service and very expensive daycare. No controls, no real measured results…just need more. These folks spend no time trying to be better…they spend all their time getting more. How about some results, how about some prudent cost effective decisions made about under utilized school buildings? How about right sizing the staff in… Read more »
It’s for the kids! More recess and sports programs!
She must live next to a pot shop or work there sampling all the weed. Always a funding problem.
Tuition would stop this all this madness in it’s tracks.
Around 80% of the students at CPS qualify for free and reduced lunch. That means they don’t have enough money to eat. Yet you think those parents are going to pay tuition? You’ve been harping on this tuition theory for a few weeks. Just say you don’t want poor people to have an opportunity for an education. Charging tuition would only make crime increase with all the students now roaming the streets.
Unfortunately, poor people have to actually attend a school with an emphasis on education rather than social justice and attend it regularly. That poor people are uneducated is an indictment of the school system and the parents that treat school as a tax funded day care. In one of the highest ratio of dollars spent per student school districts in the nation, more taxpayers money isn’t the cure.
If something is free as in Education shall be Free there is little to no appreciation for that which they did not pay for. No different than shoplifting. They did not pay for the items or have to work for the items they stole. I will continue to harp until changes are made. I went to one of my state reps a few days ago to let them know my concerns. I have spoken to many seniors and they agree that why do we have to pay for never ending school taxes. As to not having enough to eat. Have… Read more »
“ there is little to no appreciation for that which they did not pay for”. I couldn’t agree more, and that’s likely one of core reasons why private schools often show better academic performance. The kids and their parents both know they are making a sacrifice and don’t want to waste that obvious optional expense. Both will be more positively involved towards reaching that goal. What’s free is taken for granted and of little importance by comparison!
Well Said. Thanks!
“If something is free as in Education shall be Free there is little to no appreciation for that which they did not pay for” No argument here. Making something cost money that people can’t afford won’t make them appreciate it when they can’t access it. That’s the dilemma. Also, you continue to promote Kahn Academy as if it’s some magic bullet. Online education will not replace in person learning. You can talk to all the seniors you want about how they don’t want to pay taxes for things they don’t use but that’s not changing. Those seniors already don’t pay… Read more »
You make some good points here. I would not want or expect parents to pay the full tuition costs of a public school education for each child, but some reasonably significant percentage of it might improve their skin-in-the-game attitude about showing a more hearty level of participation both as community members and as parents of active students. The present system is equal in the sense of being non-discriminatory financially on their part as compared to others without school children and tends to foster lazier parental supervision attitudes among some of those parents.