Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, April 19, 2017.
Chicago Public Schools still could close for the summer 20 days early
Chicago Public Schools is still in danger of being forced to close June 1, 20 days early, unless officials find a way to get more funding soon. Alderman George Cardenas proposed legislation that would use city tax increment financing funds to keep the schools open until the scheduled end of the school year (something the Reader‘s Ben Joravsky has also proposed) but alderman Ed Burke said it had “not been properly drafted to pass a legal test and would have to be reconsidered by the City Council’s Finance Committee,” according to DNAinfo Chicago. The city has more than $1 billion in its TIF accounts. Alderman Scott Waguespack said his constituents need to know whether or not the schools will close early. “It is an embarrassment that there is not enough money to keep the lights on,” alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said. CPS CEO Forrest Claypool was criticized by several aldermen for not attending the City Council hearing. [DNAinfo Chicago]
