As Illinois state legislators last week debated the latest incarnation of a bill for an elected school board in Chicago, we got tens of millions of reminders why it should be passed.
Then there’s the $20 million the mayor’s appointed school board awarded in 2013 to a couple of scam artists who were bribing then schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett to use her clout to get them a no-bid principal-training contract.
Northwest-side state rep Rob Martwick recently reintroduced the measure. On March 15, a house committee held hearings on his bill, to which the mayor dispatched two emissaries: former school board member Jesse Ruiz and CPS chief education officer Janice Jackson.
But clearly, Emanuel exacerbates a bad situation by recklessly wasting the money he’s got. Mayor Daley did it too—let’s not forget about him.
Whenever I raise this issue, some mayoral insider will tell me: If voters don’t like what the mayor does with the schools, they should vote him out of office.
In 2016, Martwick’s measure passed the full house 108-4, winning overwhelming Republican support—no small feat given the bitter rivalry between Governor Bruce Rauner and house speaker Michael Madigan.
