Chicago Police breakup DePaul encampment

Since the Oct. 7th Hamas invasion of Israel and the taking of 250 hostages, the response from the world was one of deep hostility, but what followed: the swift invasion of Gaza, the near 40,000 Palestinian deaths, many of whom are women and children, often maimed and disfigured by Israeli bombs, sympathy and support for Israel has dwindled in what many see as genocide, plus revulsion as the Palestinian death toll has mounted.

Nowhere has this been seen more clearly than in the pro Palestinian encampments and protests across American college campuses where over the last several weeks police departments, aided by campus police, have been called to quell the often combative confrontations with pro Israel supporters. 

As of last Friday 2,400 arrests nationwide have been made.

The protests have centered on student demands that their universities divest from any investments that support the war in Gaza, much like earlier protests during the Vietnam war, and who later asked these schools to divest from companies that supported the apartheid government of South Africa in the 1980s.

Now for many students this has a new twist: they also don’t want to see their personal ethics compromised by the schools that educate them.

The protests while tamped down in some areas, and while there has been compromise at some universities, the questions it raises are varied: free speech as supported in the American constitution, the horrors of war, moral outrage, support for US allies who abridge the moral divide, to name but a few; but, in short, we are seeing an increasing level of awareness by a population that is claiming the future as their own.

The swift moving actions of some university administrators has been bemoaned by some student protestors who felt that there was some path forward, and for Northwestern University in suburban Chicago an agreement was reached, and a degree of transparency on the school’s investments was reached, but it left some, on both sides of the divide feeling betrayed, but in general, tangible results were achieved.

This has not been the case for DePaul University in Chicago, where its long running encampment was raided early Thursday morning and The Chicago Sun Times reported, “Chicago police cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment at DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus Thursday morning after school officials said they had reached an impasse with the protesters. The encampment has been in place since April 30 and had been the last remaining in the Chicago area and the longest-standing in the country.”

The pattern was the same as at the University of Chicago with an early morning confrontation, and school officials said that it was peaceful and that there was no credible threat ending, and that student protestors left quietly. Yet, there are reports that a Muslim student had her hijab torn from her head, during her arrest, and that another student, male, was pulled by his helmet by police to the ground.

Students were prepared for both the best outcome and the worst, said Simran Bains, senior to the Tribune a week ago, and was willing to get arrested if that was what it took to get school administrators to take their demands seriously, “I can’t pretend like things are normal, while other people are suffering,” she added.

DePaul President Robert Manuel had noted in an earlier statement that he hoped for a “timely resolution” to the encampment, but critics were doubting his sincerity, and now especially, in light of the police raid on the encampment.

He had noted that he added a stronger police presence due to clashes between pro Israel counter protesters and said, “It was evident that the protest had become a magnet for others outside our community with nefarious intent.”

It should be noted that DePaul's campus, much like that of Columbia In New York City, sits in an open community with easy public access.

The Sun Times added that “During a news conference at DePaul, Chicago Police Patrol Chief Jon Hein told reporters that officers “assisted in the removal of the encampment” at the university’s request, "and the protestors departed quietly, and without incident.

“It became apparent that the student leaders did not have the ability to represent everyone or make decisions in our final meeting with the DePaul Divestment Coalition and their attorney on May 11,” Manuel said, adding, "... the student leaders demonstrated a complete lack of understanding or concern for the impact the encampment was having on the rest of the population in our university community.”

The university received more than 1,000 complaints about the encampment over the past 17 days and “took steps to address these concerns,” Manuel said.

“But we can no longer maintain this balance. We had no choice but to act, before we lost the ability to provide for the safety of the Jewish members of our community, to preserve the rights of all other students, and to maintain university operations,” Manuel said of the decision to clear the encampment.”

Accusations of anti Semitism abound but it’s certainly not clear that all of those that are seen offering the Hitler salute, or yelling racial slurs are students, and in fact New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams has blamed outside agitators for the unrest.

Media reports from the residential community surrounding the DePaul campus reported the following including the Sun Times:

"Brian Comer, president of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association, said the group became concerned about safety when counter protesters showed up at the encampment days ago and asked the university to take the encampment down.

Though that protest ended peacefully, Comer said he was worried about a different outcome of more clashes.

“It became very clear that this could be a tinder box for something besides free speech,” Comer said. “The second one person is injured, it’s too late.”

“The Anti Defamation League, praised the school’s action as did Metro Hillel Chicago, and noted that peaceful classroom discussions were their expected standard for protest.

“In a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Anti-Defamation League Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg said they “appreciate” that the university cleared the encampment.

Additional pro-Israel groups have also opposed the encampments across the country, including Metro Chicago Hillel, which has started a petition to call on university administrators to clear them.”

“Free speech and the respectful exchange of ideas in the classroom and in peaceful public protests are fundamental to a college education,” a petition from Hillel International read. “What is happening on too many college and university campuses today is not that,” the petition said.

Despite the fears of the neighborhood association, it seems, from student reports that their encampment was peaceful with book clubs, prayers and music.

Redolent of earlier campus protests, the sight of police brutalizing students in headlocks, and often in riot gear, has turned the tide of public opinion for some, but politics has entered the public arena, with some like Sen. Ted Cruz lobbing wholesale accusations at the feet of protestors, and the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported:

.”U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz made a stop in Fort Worth Wednesday night to stump for Cheryl Bean, who is in a Republican Primary runoff for Texas District 97.

Bean, of Fort Worth, is running to fill the seat of Rep. Craig Goldman, also of Fort Worth, who is running for Congressional District 12.

Cruz, a Texas Republican, spoke about his grievances with President Joe Biden’s White House, immigration and the protests that are ongoing at college campuses across the country opposing the war in Gaza .

Following the event, Cruz told the Star-Telegram he “absolutely” supports the deployment of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers across the state to the University of Texas at Austin’s campus.

On Wednesday more than 500 students protested on the UT campus grounds, with 34 arrests being made, including two journalists.

“Any radical who threatens the safety of another student should be arrested, should they be prosecuted they should be expelled and if they’re from another country, they should be deported,” Cruz said to the crowd, earning him a standing ovation

Bean also spoke in opposition of the protests against Israel.

“Our country is based on everyone having the right to express themselves and worship like they are,” Bean told the Star-Telegram. “We keep forgetting that it wasn’t the Jews that went out and made the first strike. It was the Palestinians.”

The fact that many of these protests are being held at elite colleges, University of California Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other liberal institutions has not been lost on Republican lawmakers who see these protests as yet another example of “woke” ideologies, replete with their diversity, equality and inclusion departments.

With a swift look in the rear view mirror of political events, we can easily recall the grilling that Rep. Elise Stefanik gave to the presidents of Harvard, MIT and University of Pennsylvania, in December, accusing them that they were not cracking down on anti Semitism on their campuses and correspondingly were not doing enough to protect Jewish students; yet, it’s hard to see an earlier time when there was this much outrage and accusations of anti Semitism coming from Congress. And, some observers on Capitol Hill are seeing her statements, like that of Cruz, as being politically expedient.

Stefanik for one, an Ivy League graduate of Harvard, has used her questioning to spark her already rising political career in Republican circles, and who is known for her unqualified public support of Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president in the November presidential election.

To be fair, some university presidents are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place: if they come down too hard, they are being seen as authoritarian, if they don’t they are being branded as anti Semitic. 

President Joe Biden has publicly condemned anti Semitism at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Days of Remembrance reminding the audience of the history of Jewish struggles, and that anti Semitism, and antagonism towards Jews, “This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world, and it requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness.”

While Columba’s pushback against the students after an administration building was blocked was seen as being heavy handed, with police climbing a ladder to get into the barricaded doors and hauling out students into police vans, last week’s pushback at the University of Chicago has become a bellwether for how not to deal with the campus protests, say critics.

The school known to be among the most committed of universities to free speech, in the country, reported The Chicago Tribune, but noting that the Dean of Students Michelle Rasmussen said in an earlier statement that “protestors have had numerous opportunities to share their views during this encampment, and they may do so now, under the same rules that apply to others.”

As to be expected this level of tolerance was allowed as long as it did not disrupt classes, and school life, or potential violence, therefore, it was a surprise when news of their early dawn raid, when students were asleep, and as one Palestinian professor told the Tribune, “The point of the raid was terror, they waited for those kids to fall asleep and then they pulled tents from under them when they were sleeping,” said Eman Abdelhadi.

In a statement, The U.S. Palestinian Network said, “University of Chicago (U of C) police attacked that campus’ student encampment, which is calling for divestment from Israel and a free Palestine, clearing its Quad of tents, canopies, banners, posters, Palestinian flags, and students. But there are still dozens of encampments still going strong across the U.S., even though they are under attack from university and local police, as well as from racist, zionist thugs.”

On Thursday, USPCN announced in a press release that they would protest at the university as they prepare for alumni weekend: “This Friday, hundreds of students, faculty, and community members organized by UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) will rally at the University of Chicago in protest of the University's continued involvement in the genocide in Gaza. This protest comes after the University swept a Gaza solidarity encampment on Tuesday, May 7, in order to clear space on the quad for Alumni Weekend, an annual event intended to reunite University alumni and encourage donations.”

In a further statement that shows that University of Chicago officials may have been caught out, they added the following:

"Ironically, the University removed our tents on the grounds that they were blocking students' access to common spaces like the quad," said one third-year undergraduate organizer with UCUP, "but now they’ve set up even bigger tents, as well as barriers which prevent students from accessing a large section of the quad. The administration's definition of 'disruptive' activity is so clearly arbitrary and non-neutral. They’re more than willing to block off common space as long as it lines their pockets."

All but lost for Bring Chicago Home referendum

Tuesday’s primary election for Chicago proved the probable death knell for the much heralded and championed Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would have imposed a tax increase on properties sold over $1.5 million, taxed at 0.6 percent on the first $999,999 of the sale price, 2 percent on the next $500,000, and 3 percent on the rest.

In what was a surprise to many in City Hall, as well as residents, voters defeated the proposal by a resounding “no” with voters by a 53.6 % vote and only 46.4% vote saying “yes”, this despite a publicized effort by Mayor Brandon Johnson, and supportive alder people such as Maria Hadden of the 49th Ward, and State Res. Kelly Cassidy, both Democrats.

As we have noted before opposition was fiercest by building owners and managers, and their group, Building Owners and  Managers Association of Chicago, mounted a vigorous campaign to first take the vote off the ballot, which they did with the cooperation of an appeals court, but when it reached the Illinois State Supreme Court they declined to hear it, saying that the Court could not interfere in the legislative process.

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The supporters despite some intense retail politics, including door knocking all over the city, and Hadden and Cassidy appearing at the polls, along with other elected city and religious leaders, were on hand at polling places to answer questions; all to no avail.

What is known is that the Association did mount a full court press of its own to malign, say some, in their efforts to defeat the measure which would have generated $100 million to fight the ever increasing homeless population of Chicago, estimated at the last point in time count to be 700,000.

While in some quarters there was sympathy for the building owners, they never offered an alternative, and the specter of a property increase amongst all classes of real estate is an unwelcome alternative that few want to see.

Had the measure passed the burden would have fallen on commercial properties and few homeowners. In fact, it contained a tax cut that would have benefited most of them on properties sold between $1million with a cut to 0.6 percent on the first $999,999, of the sale price, and 2 percent on the rest.

As The Chicago Sun Times reported, “The lowest turnout in at least 80 years for a presidential primary would have appeared to favor the Chicago Teachers Union, the CTU-affiliated United Working Families and progressive unions that had proven their ability to turn out their own voters in a low-turnout election by electing Johnson last year,” and largely driving this recent effort, after previous failed attempts in the past.

“Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), the mayor's former City Council floor leader, made no attempt to hide his disappointment”, added the Sun Times.

"This is not the result we wanted. We're gonna have to take a real hard look at what happened and figure out how to move forward from here," said Ramirez-Rosa, who was instrumental in getting the binding referendum through the City Council and on the ballot after years of failure.”

Also expressing disappointment, in their report, and a possible reason for defeat was, “Johnson’s First Deputy Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas [who] addressed the referendum at the Northwest Side party of newly elected state Rep. Graciela Guzmán.”

“We’ll continue to work. The issue is not going away,” Pacione-Zayas said, attributing the results to the court battle over whether referendum votes would be counted, which could have caused potential confusion among mail-in voters.”

With over 95 % of the votes polled, supporters are hoping that the uncounted mail in votes, 100,000 can give them a “Hail Mary Pass”, but with that count not coming until early next week, at least, that hope might prove to be more of a wish than a hope,

The political loss for a Jonson supported initiative cannot be dismissed, although it’s early enough in his term to salvage defeat, but some who never wanted to see him in office, are smelling blood in the water as was noted by the report:

"Bad policy should be defeated, and voters saw that it was bad policy," said veteran political strategist Greg Goldner, who quarterbacked the campaign against the referendum.

"It can't build affordable housing. It can't solve homelessness. It can't provide mental health services. It can't solve the migrant crisis. It can't provide affordable housing for teachers and vets. It can't do all of those things for a revenue stream that has proven to be unpredictable," he added. In the end, Goldner said, voters agreed the referendum was "poorly constructed, poorly defined" and a "very cynical public policy initiative."

While Goldner’s remarks ignore the enormity of these problems faced in cities across the country, with “solution” being a relative term, nonetheless, his comments reflect a deep dissatisfaction with Johnson, especially by the local white business elite, who did not want, as noted before, another Black mayor, after the defeat of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

In a larger sense, the opposition to progressive politicians in Democratic led cities has surfaced as business communities nationwide have expressed what they feel is a “lurch to the left,” noted Richard Florida, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, in a recent interview with Crain’s Chicago Business, who added that while some companies left some larger American cities such as Seattle, and others, “they were trying to make statements, and say . . . “Look, Chicago and New York and San Francisco are no longer as well governed. They have been captured by a liberal elite.”

He added that when some of those companies moved to Austin, Texas and Miami, Fla.,they found much of the same problems with poverty and homelessness.

It’s easy, as the old cliché stated, that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but tracing a different trajectory, albeit progressive, also takes partnership, as well as a reality check.

Bring Chicago Home faces judicial hurdle

“Bring Chicago Home” advocates faced a hurdle in their efforts to increase the real estate transfer tax as a dedicated revenue stream to fight homelessness in the city, a long standing problem further exacerbated by the increase of over 182,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela.

On Friday Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Burke invalidated the ballot referendum that was to appear on the March 19th Chicago primary ballot, in a ruling pending from a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Elections that she labeled vague and unconstitutional, and was welcome news to those opposed to the proposal, namely the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, the Chicago Apartment Association.

The proposed ordinance  had long faced opposition by these groups and others and the ruling now removed the question from the voters, but since the ballots have already been printed, any votes will not be counted.

While an appeal is expected by supporters, the dilemma of how to begin to solve a long standing problem hangs in the balance with 682,000 unhoused people, not counting the migrants, who are living on the streets, sheltering on CTA buses and El trains, and doubled up with others and family members or other places not designed for human habitation.

The $100 million dollars in expected revenue leaves supporters including Mayor Brandon Johnson, in a bind to solve the social dilemma.

As CBS News Chicago reported, “Specifically, the Bring Chicago Home proposal would create a tiered system for the real estate transfer tax for property sales in Chicago:

• The transfer tax for properties valued at less than $1 million would drop from 0.75% to 0.60%

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• Properties sold for between $1 million and $1.5 million would pay a 2% transfer tax, nearly triple the current rate

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• Properties sold for $1.5 million or more would pay a 3% transfer tax, four times the current rate.

Meanwhile those bringing the suit are elated, and according to THe Chicago Tribune: “In a statement Friday, BOMA Chicago Executive Director Farzin Parang said the group was “gratified” by the ruling, which “underscores the necessity of presenting policy questions to the public with fairness, detail, and transparency.”

“This referendum would be a backdoor property tax on all Chicagoans, and it is important that our elected officials not mislead voters otherwise,” Parang said.

Earlier he had also the The Chicago Sun-TImes, ““The way that they worded this question was just sort of politics and it was vague and it was trying to manipulate people into thinking that they were getting a tax cut when this is, functionally, a property tax increase on everybody," and, "We’re just gratified that the judge agreed with us.”

In a revealing statement, Parang also “said that, had the binding referendum remained on the ballot, Johnson and his allies would likely have won.”

The Times also gave a reality check on local politics when they opined, “That’s because the March 19 turnout is expected to be low, and the person the mayor assigned to quarterback the campaign — Emma Tai, former executive director of United Working Families, a group affiliated with the Chicago Teachers Union — marshaled field operations for Johnson’s winning mayoral campaign.”

Framed in terms of racial disparity the mayor said in November, in a statement to the Tribune, “"We know that homelessness is up since 2019, and that Black Chicagoans account for 69% of our city's unhoused population, and one in four Black students in the Chicago Public Schools, unfortunately, will experience homelessness at least once during their lives. Bring Chicago Home is an important measure that I believe will help rectify this wrong,"and furthermore, "My administration will continue our mission to support Chicago's unhoused, and I will remain resolute in my belief that housing is truly a human right."

In a long racially segregated city, race cuts deeply, but others have fought back from some of the same communities affected, and one in opposition was the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce, and according to the Tribune:

"I think they just assumed that since the $1 million price tag was put on there, this is a rich person's tax to help poor people,'' said Cornell Darden Jr., chairman of the Southland Black Chamber. "But we didn't see it that way."

He said, as others have noted, “ if property owners paid the increase, they would simply pass it on to renters.”

"It can help increase the problem of homelessness by raising rental prices," said Darden.”

It was evident that the opposition has planned, organized and funded a formidable opposition, and the Tribune also reported that. “The group’s website, “Protect Chicago Homes,” states that the decrease for lower-value sales is a distraction from the hike borne by other property owners. “With no plan for how to spend this New Property Tax, they’ll be coming after your house next” to adequately fund affordable housing developments.”

Supporters state that while there would be a dedicated revenue stream, the monies would be governed by an advisory board.

In a statement after Burke’s ruling, Baker called for the city to “sit down together to develop a real plan for better homelessness prevention and to further housing stability.”

Until then, he said, the group would continue its campaign to inform voters “how tax burdened Chicagoans are and the need for policy solutions that do not rely on real estate taxes.”

Critics charge that those opposed had years, (dating from the Lightfoot administration, when the plan was first broached and later abandoned, by the mayor, who then developed an alternative tiered tax cut plan of hers, but no revenues to help the homeless) to develop an alternative plan for discussion, but this was never done.

Hovering in the background, like a many headed hydra, there are reports of “Other opposition groups . . . . One is Keep Chicago Affordable, which appears to be an extension of the 501(c)(4) nonprofit group Chicago Forward. Both are led by Resolute Public Affairs. It has not yet raised or spent any money.”

A noted leading advocate is Ald. Maria Hadden of the 49th Ward told local media:

"These are the same companies raising your rents and deconverting your condos, displacing you and your family from our neighborhoods," she wrote in a statement. "Chicago voters should be furious."

While Hadden has led a group of 19 like minded alders, it is important to note that the effort has been led by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, but also the aforementioned SEIU Healthcare, United Working Families, Communities United, ONE Northside and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.  But, despite their collective effort they have had to face the powerful, and wealthy Chicago real estate owners, and, of course, a larger budget to fight with, plus political fire power, as Friday’s ruling has shown.

On March 6th an appellate court ruled that the referendum could stay on the ballot, overturning the appeal by the Building Owners and Manager's Association, with weeks to spare before the March 19 primary. In essence, Presiding Judge Raymond Mitchell said that his court's decision was to not interfere in the legislative process, stating specifically that "Courts do not, and cannot, interfere with the legislative process." BOMA has not made a decision as of this writing whether or not to appeal to the Illinois State Supreme Court. DG

10 March 2024 9:34 CDST

Chicago charter schools examined by school board

On Thursday the Chicago Board of Education voted on extensions for the city’s charter, selective enrollment, and magnet school contracts, and especially the 49 charter schools. Ahead of the vote protestors demonstrated with the familiar hand lettered placards asking that the Board preserve school choice.

The result of the vote was to extend the charter contracts between one and four years and not the usual, and expected 10 years, bringing questions from the heads of some of those schools, and some hand wringing on what has become a worrisome concern for the leadership of those schools.

In a larger sense the issue is a focus on privatization of the nation’s public schools which we have seen under the Trump Administration, when Betsy De Vos was the head of the Department of Education, bringing the issue to the forefront.

It will be tough sledding for charter leaders with the election of Brandon Johnson as mayor and his former roles as teacher and organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, as they favor strengthening neighborhood schools, and the Board agreed in December with a resolution  to do just that.

It’s no secret that Chicago public schools, especially in low income neighborhoods, have been underfunded, and suffer from inadequate resources, aging physical plants, and often inexperienced teachers; but, with a student population that is predominately Black and Brown, in a city that has long suffered from racial segregation, the lack of political will by prior mayoral administrations has exacerbated those problems.

Notably the closing of over 50 schools in those neighborhoods by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013 did not help the perception that the city was disenfranchising Black students.

Caught in the middle, say some educators and parents groups, are lower income Black children whose neighborhood schools are felt to be inadequate. And, in a protest held the day before the Board met many of those parents were there to express their frustrations and fears, that they might lose their favored charter schools.

“How could we possibly eliminate a family's ability to choose the best school for their child?" Noble Schools CEO Constance Jones said. ""How can this board claim to support a quality public education when it is actively trying to get rid of schools exactly that, “ reported ABC7 News.

Of the total of 49 schools, most did receive 4 year contracts, with one receiving a one year contract, and the Board cited those on the shorter end, but overall needed to meet benchmark standards of special education, and students who are English language learners.

For the leadership of the Board a central concern is that the charters are essentially a private school system in a public system funded by public monies and should be held accountable to do the very best for students with taxpayer money.

Elizabeth Todd Breland, board vice president said at Thursday's meeting,“I still maintain that as a private operator getting public money, there should be a higher level of scrutiny,”

The areas of focus for them are academics, finances and operations, corresponding also to state and federal law, points which are not always held in the public arena. And, none of the schools met, or exceeded in those categories at this time.

The end result was that over half of those schools received a contract extension for four years, and forty percent for three years, and none got 5 years.

Taking a closer look at the numbers, we see claims that 75 percent of Chicago public school children are educated in charter schools, but there is also the dwindling population of school age children, especially in Black neighborhoods, due to out migration, has shown a corresponding reduction in student population; and, for some the question of evaluation, and contract extensions is critical, as it is with neighborhood schools. 

An ongoing debate is whether students do better in charter schools, socially, and academically, and a decades old media discussion showed that on standardized testing charter school Chicago students performed no better, or worse than public school students. While some objected to that, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, was one.

The Washington Post, in 2014 coverage found that to be the case, but supporters now say that has changed in favor of the charters.

Diffen.com reported this:

“A 2013 study by Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) concluded about two-thirds of charter school students perform the same or worse than students in traditional public schools, while about a third of students perform better in a charter school setting. CREDO's director told NPR that African American and Latino students, as well as students whose first language is not English, experienced particularly impressive gains in performance while enrolled at charter schools. However, critics have countered that charter school policies like fines for misbehavior drive students from poor families to drop out. Charter schools also tend to have fewer accommodations for students with disabilities such as autism.”

It’s sure to be an ongoing debate, and both sides will undoubtedly be forced to examine their stances, but as of now, Chicago charter schools are under the microscope.