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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

UPDATE: Oberweis milks the system + The in box. More on Chicago charter underutilization. | Fred Klonsky

The in box. More on Chicago charter underutilization. | Fred Klonsky:



John Dillon: Oberweis milks the system.

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From John Dillon’s blog:

Sometimes money can’t buy you love – or even a seat on the highest levels, but it can at least get you into Springfield.  After unsuccessful runs for Governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative; State Senator Jim Oberweis has finally made his political debut.  Now situated firmly in the Capitol Building, unlike many other career legislators, he can be free to act without the concerns or regards for trivial matters like salary, retirement, or (in some cases) constitutional law.  Welcome, Senator Oberweis.

Running so often in the past for so many offices, we can be sure to know and understand just where our new state Senator stands on the significant issues facing Illinoisans: in this case, the unfunded liability owed to public workers for 



The in box. More on Chicago charter underutilization.

Fred,
Last spring my 8th grader was aggressively recruited by a charter high school, Chicago Tech Academy — which he had not applied to.
His CPS elementary school had held a high school information session, and a good number of schools came to talk with the kids.
But the elementary school then held a separate information session only for Chicago Tech Academy. And that is likely where my child’s name, address, and perhaps even test scores were given to Chicago Tech.
Not long after — one week before we were to hear about his acceptance to the selective CPS high school he had tested for — I began to receive phone calls from Chicago Tech Academy saying he had been admitted. Congratulations!
I said we hadn’t applied and were not interested. And how did you get this number, it is unlisted?
The man on the other line said he worked full-time in CPS personnel office and part-time in 


Chicago charter schools are underutilized.

empty-classroom
Chicago charter desks go empty while neighborhood schools are shuttered.
The claim that the Chicago schools targeted by Rahm Emanuel for shut down are underutilized has already been shot down by those like Wendy Katten and Raise Your Hand. In spite of this, CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett continues to argue this with a straight face while CPS continues with their plan to open more charter schools.
The charter expansion is aided by Michael Madigan who greased the way for a $98 million tax give away to UNO’s Juan Rangel, one of the largest charter operators in the City.
But new attention is now being given to the fact that it is not the neighborhood public schools that are