Contrary to the claims of some econometric reformer types, money matters in schools. To understand why Illinois and Chicago don’t have to be like they are, we must survey the national picture of school funding. Illinois has a revenue problem, and Minnesota points the way toward a solution. 
They were gathered in the name of Dyett, the high school that the leaders of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced in 2012 would be shuttered at the end of 2015. This group of parents, community members, and students sat in the 95-degree heat to demand a meeting with the alderman, Will Burns. They wanted… 
New CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has made it clear that the district has no Plan B if the state does not step in to close the $480 million budget hole in CPS 2016 budget. The district is proposing their FY 2016 budget… 
As the new fiscal year started for the Chicago Public Schools, Rahm Emanuel and interim-CEO Jesse Ruiz announced $200 million in cuts, including 1400 layoffs, while warning that even more devastating cuts to the classrooms will be coming down the line if the state fails to act on his legislative agenda - a legislative agenda that included no new progressive revenue sources. 
With Governor Rauner pushing for bankruptcy amid multiple downgrades to Chicago debt, the big question appears to be, is Chicago on the road to Detroit? An In These Times article by Saqib Bhatti explains how the entire paradigm – that… 