2022 marked a decade-high number of assaults and motor vehicle thefts in Chicago while arrest rates plummeted to their lowest level in 10 years. The first eight months of 2023 has not been much better, with a 13% increase in overall crime.
As negotiations begin on a new Chicago Teachers Union contract, expect them to push for higher pay, less work, less accountability and less competition. None of those things will lead to better educations for Chicago’s children.
Just 17% of CTU’s spending in 2023 was on representing its members – down from previous years on record.
“Words cannot even begin to express how much these scholarships can truly mean to someone. I want lawmakers to give other kids opportunities to feel the change I felt.”
But nearly 3,000 low-income students enrolled in Chicago’s parochial schools will lose their scholarships if the Invest in Kids Act is not extended by state lawmakers this fall.
“There are a lot of kids that thrive because they're helped out by these scholarships. Like for our family, my husband went through cancer twice and so it affects what jobs he can or can't do."
This edition of The Policy Shop is by policy advisor Paul Vallas. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s promises are colliding with his problems, which will be on full display today when he delivers his budget address to the City Council. There’s a $538 million projected deficit. There are over 17,000 migrants expected to cost the city...
“The power of these scholarships can’t be summarized in rhetoric or legislation. The power and potential reside with the young people.”
Nearly 500 education employees have stopped affiliating with CTU in the past year. But the number of members leaving the union could be even larger than currently reported.
Tipped workers in Chicago will be phased into the city’s $15.80 minimum wage. Proponents said higher wages will help staffing shortages, but opponents said it will lead to higher costs, fewer jobs and maybe backfire for tipped workers’ pay.
For the first time since the Chicago Teachers Union started filing federal reports, the union reported spending more money than it took in for its 2023 fiscal year. It underscores members’ concerns about union leaders for years failing to provide required audits.
The Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Education Association have leaders sending their children to private schools for brighter futures. So why are they working to end the hopes of two performing arts students and their 9,600 low-income peers?