Number of half-empty Chicago public schools doubles, yet lawmakers want to extend school closing moratorium – Wirepoints
April 19, 2024
18 Comments
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
Please respond Mark,
I saw a comment you left on Tribune about the budget. You said there is no solution to be had, and I tend to agree. But, what happens in the end then? When does it all collapse, and how, so that something truly can be done? We know the pensions are doomed in the end. Where does this all lead at the end?
http://www.MichaelMadigan.com
That doesn’t answer my question, and you are not Mark. Madigan cannot and will not fix what will happen in the end anyway.
Michael Madigan is the biggest factor in what has occurred and what will occur. Understanding and explaining to others what has transpired, understanding and explaining explaining alternatives, reigning in Madigan’s power, winning battles against Madigan, outmaneuvering Madigan, etc. are all critical factors in fixing the mess. There are an infinite number of potential outcomes. How it plays out depends on what happens at the Federal, state, and local levels, among politicians, voters, taxpayers, government units, government employees, lobbyists, unions, judges, lawyers, policy, state law, federal law, state constitution, US constitution, etc. Theoretically, there is enough money to pay for pensions… Read more »
Madigan will be dead or retired by the time the state collapses, and it will in 5 to 7 years. There are no realistic combination of cuts or taxes that can fix Illinois. Most likely Illinois will force the federal government to allow state bankruptcy in the future, the pensions will run out of money totally and force change, or both.
Theoretically there was enough land in Europe to satisfy Hitler’s demand for lebensraum. Theoretically, there’s enough water in Lake Michigan to hydrate Arizona and the Sahara desert. Theoreticallly, there are enough voters in Illinois to elect legislators and officials who can fairly balance the expectations of taxpayers and public employees. Theoretically, public employees should receive fair wages and those who retire should receive fair pensions while taxpayers should pay a fair amount for public services. It now appears that the cost of pensions was under-estimated and that the “workers” received higher salaries than the government could afford to pay. The… Read more »
Right — it’s very misleading to say that theoretically taxes could solve this. I’m writing about that shortly. It would take about 3X the revenue raised by the temporary tax increase to fill the true budget hole, and that would empty out the state.
Well, I followed it up by, will voters tolerate the tax hikes and opportunity costs.
It seems tax hikes hits more of a raw nerve than salary and benefit hikes.
Mike: I was trying to agree with you and then some. Infinite revenue solves all problems of government expenditure. Reality is more challenging and I often wonder if our politics and economy are tuned-in to reality other than when the system gridlocks.
How and when the wreck unfolds is unpredictable. It won’t be one big boom. It’s already happening. People are leaving, tax base is shrinking, state revenue is declining, services are being cut. Look at the south suburbs to see the death spiral already in full force. The only thing that might reverse it is a change in the majority of both houses of the General Assembly, and I don’t see that happening.
But this cannot go on forever Mark; some sort of collapse is on its way if nothing changes. In the end, the pensions will fail for sure with no changes.
True, but think of it as a slow burn. Like Puerto Rico and Detroit. Just a gradual descent.
The slow burn has been going on for a while in Illinois; it will not last much longer. The fact is that the global economy is in worse shape than Illinois, and that is scary.