Gen. Kelly takes charge, and fires Scaramucci!

Stepping up to the plate on Monday was retired Marine General John F. Kelly to replace the ousted chief of staff, for the Trump White House, Reince Priebus, in what is arguably one of the most chaotic of White House administrations, seemingly ever. While it’s hard to give a score, or ranking to previous efforts, it’s quite clear that this is not your father’s White House, as the old car dealerships would advertise.

Taking the road less travelled, Kelly fired the F-bomb laden, brash boy, Anthony Scaramucci,  as White House Communications Director, who himself replaced the beleaguered, and often clueless, Sean Spicer, whose violated the first rule in public speaking : making Nazi comparisons, and putting that American history textbook, on the garage sale table, in the backyard.

Unbelievably, in an interview with The New Yorker, Scaramucci took a series of profanity laden pot shots at some of the most prominent members of President Trump’s administration, including Priebus, and others. After a collective WTF from even the most sanguine of Trump supporters many had said, enough was enough, and in steps the General, a  veteran with combat experience in Central America, and Iraq.

If what we have seen over the last six months is indicative, of any past participles, then it’s safe to assume that the general has his work cut out for him, making order out of chaos, with the leaks from frustrated staffers, and those that serve them, to the fake news that emanates from the keyboard of POTUS.

If sanity truly does matter then the first order of business, as all of the talking heads on network, and cable stations, have noted, is the president, or even more succinctly, those awkward, often sophomoric tweets that sabotage his efforts at even establishing an agenda, not to mention daily governance, attacking hither and yon, suggesting that he has secretly recorded tapes, threatening news organizations, announcing bans on transgendered people without warrant, or even by - including the Pentagon.

Not to mention the public whipping (via Twitter) that he has given Jeff Sessions, which seems a hell of a way to treat a fervent, and early supporter of candidate Trump.

What lies behind most of these “airoticas” is fear, genuine fear, that as some have said, when the truth comes out with the Russian allegations, then it’s a return to Trump Tower. It also lurks behind the beratement of Sessions for recusing himself from the Russian investigation, and not the old canard of Hillary’s emails.

In the none too distant past, the presence of Ivanka Trump, as special advisor was hoped to stop those embarrassing tweets. But, while she has emerged as an advisor, (with a flawless wardrobe of couture fashion), even she can’t make a difference, unless she trades in her Manolo Blahniks for a pair of track shoes to race around the private quarters of the Mansion to see what Daddy is tweeting, and where he is doing it - maybe under the blanket, or in the linen closet?

In a CNN interview, on Monday, with ardent Trump supporters in Alabama, his fans almost begged him to stop with the tweets already, or at least to discipline them, with Kelly’s help?

As we all know family matters, and in this family, Kelly will have to tread a fine line between the lives of Ivanka and her husband Jared, and brother Donald, Jr., who have all behaved in suspicious manners: meeting secretly with Russian officials and asking for a secret channel, one of theirs, to communicate with; to the namesake, and heir, meeting with a Russian lawyer to get the goods on Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, sudden contracts with foreign clothing retailers for orders from Ivanka, Inc.

The jungles of Central America maybe just the experience that Kelly needs to traverse the hills of the family Trump, not be confused with the Von Trapps. Yet, most agree that the number one factor to be addressed is Trump himself. "I keep saying there is no better Trump, there's never a pivot," said GOP strategist Rick Wilson, a vigorous critic of the president. "No one is smart or strong enough to change him,” reported The Hill.

All of which points to how can Kelly, as urban slang would have it, keep it real with Trump. That is the $64,000 question, and one that is not easily answered. For example,  if Kelly urges him to stay on message, can that be done without a message? So far, the Trump agenda seems to be mostly campaign promises, and little else.

After seating Kelly for the press announcement in one of the gold upholstered, (and, ill-named Martha Washington) chairs in the Oval Office, they proceeded to the “board room” as Trump calls the Cabinet Room, and when asked about the latest nuclear North Korean bomb testing, (one that could potentially hit either Denver, or Chicago) all that he could say, was “We’ll take care of it.”

Godspeed General Kelly!

Improved U.S. job outlook for many, but not all

The U.S. economy buffeted by yesterday’s storms seem to have made it safely, if not completely, free from the damages of The Great Recession. The recent meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee also gave credence not only to the dovish approach of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, but also the quiet confidence in a moderate growth for the job market. She noted that “economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year. Job gains have been solid, on average, since the beginning of the year, and the unemployment rate has declined.”

There were 222,000 jobs added in June, supporting Yellen’s cautious optimism.

This of course, is welcome news and is supported by the June 4.4 unemployment rate despite the overall weak labor force participation rate of 62.8 percent, that was little changed from the previous month, as was the involuntary part-time workers -- those working part-time but would prefer full-time, as was discouraged workers at 514,000.

What did change? The gap between black and white workers, for the first time since April 2000 came in at 7.1 percent, and 1.5 percent points down from a year ago, the smallest gap, on record, between black and white Americans.

"This trend is exactly what we want to see" as the economy gets closer to full employment, said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. The rebound in available jobs after the recession has attracted millions of Americans back into the labor force. With the unemployment rate back at a post-recession low, the economy is nearer to the theoretical level of full employment, at which everyone who wants a job and can work is employed,” reported Business Insider.

Despite the good news, the historical lag between the two groups is still present. And according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics is 7.2 percent, with whites at 4.0.

It’s been well established that income inequality has never been greater than it is, and the figures for black unemployment are part of that conversation.  In December of last year, it was noted by many that Illinois -- the Land of Lincoln - held the nation’s highest black unemployment, in the nation, at 15 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which, a year ago showed that “Nationally, African Americans had the highest unemployment rate in June, at 8.6 percent, followed by Latinos (5.8 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and Asians (3.5 percent).”

For 2016, there were some surprises, and for the “second quarter of 2016, the African American unemployment rate was lowest in Texas (6.1 percent) . . . since the fourth quarter of 2015, the black unemployment rate in Illinois has risen 1.9 percentage points as unemployment has increased 0.7 percentage points statewide.”

“Seventeen states had African American unemployment rates below 10 percent in the second quarter of 2016—in 13 of these states, the rate was equal to or lower than the second quarter national average for African Americans (8.5 percent),” noted the EPI.

Reason, like analysis also comes into play when looking behind the figures, and the right-leaning, Illinois Policy Institute,  took a stance from their governor, Bruce Rauner, and remarked, “This has resulted from policymakers’ yearslong neglect of Illinois’ economy. Illinois’ political leadership has ignored opportunities to encourage economic growth while enacting taxes and regulations that have stunted job creation. These anti-job policy decisions have helped create a situation where Illinois’ most economically vulnerable residents are the least well-off of any state considered by EPI’s study, which focuses on the half of U.S. states with larger black populations.”

It should also be noted that IPI received a sizeable donation from Rauner, before his election, which throws their reasoning into question.

The dwindling manufacturing and industrial base, long the bulwark of unskilled labor for African-American men, plays a role, as does racial segregation in the state’s schools, and the ever growing politicization in Chicago Public Schools that has seen an unequal funding formula that is based on real estate values, and a recalcitrant Rauner, who sees current efforts at balancing the education budget, at helping their unfunded pension, which is at $130 billion, and growing.

“Illinois has the nation’s largest funding gap between high-poverty and low-poverty districts, with the highest poverty districts in the state receiving nearly 20 percent less funding than districts with the lowest poverty levels.”

With a student population that has a majority that is nearly evenly divided between black and brown students, political will comes into play, and in turn, lack of that will reduces social capital for Illinois blacks, and helps maintain that high unemployment figure.

“A study by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute in January found that joblessness among young black men in the city of Chicago was alarmingly high—with unemployment among black 20- to 24-year-olds at 60.2 percent in 2015. That report found that the decline in available jobs was directly tied to the decline of manufacturing in Chicago and “the emptying out of jobs from neighborhoods,” a contrast from the professional level services” downtown, said Chicagoist.com.

Overall for 2017, June figures showed the overall figure of  8,600 jobs added, in Illinois, with an addition of 900 manufacturing jobs added, with increases in professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality.

Local PBS Station WTTW earlier noted that “In Illinois, the white-black unemployment gap is especially wide. While nationally, African-Americans are unemployed at 2.1 times the rate of their white counterparts, blacks in Illinois are unemployed at a rate nearly three times higher than whites.”

“When unemployment decreases at a national level, we have to break it down by race,” said Janelle Jones, author of the report. “Saying simply that unemployment is down is really leaving behind entire communities who have barely recovered since the Great Recession.”

Some solutions for the corresponding rate of poverty are to increase the minimum wage -- also a national debate -  but one that is fraught with political assault and those who oppose it say, like Michael Lucci, vice president of IPI argues that the increase can only further damage prospects for African American employment

He said, “These laws effectively ban job opportunities that might otherwise employ young black men and women in the Chicago area,” and. “The first solution is to stop digging a deeper hole with minimum wage hikes and roll back the misguided minimum wage hikes in Chicago and Cook County.”

On the opposite side of the argument is Jones who says, “that African-American workers have been largely impacted by jobs in the manufacturing and construction sector which have failed to return to pre-recession levels. She also points to another EPI report that finds “no significant evidence that job losses in the post-2007 period were driven by federal minimum wage increases.” Institutions with better wages, and more worker protections and unions, Jones says, prove to be more stable for African-Americans.”

Paying lower wages to increase employment is an issue for Jones, who remarked, “If the only way we can employ African-Americans is through low-wage jobs, that is a problem,” she said. “We can either design an economy that only employs minorities at low wages, or we can design an economy that raises the floor and let’s everyone have some bargaining power and a living wage.”

After a two year absence, Illinois now has a budget

They said it could not happen, and it almost didn’t, despite a hazmat scare that closed the capital temporarily, Illinois now has a budget, after a two year absence. With the all clear, there was a vote of 71-42 by the House on the revenue bill, giving relief to fears that there might be a third year without one. Lurking behind that fear was also a desire to avoid the much dreaded junk bond status that Moody's Investment threatened to slap on the state, without it.

The override means that the state has a budget plan for the first time since the first of July 1, 2015.

Before the champagne corks are popped, the sobering news is that there is now going to be a substantial hike in the personal income tax rate, and that of corporations, both of which are unlikely to bring smiles to those who will pony up to pay it.

Adding to the drama was the temporary lockdown that “ended about 3:30 p.m. at the Illinois State Capitol. The hazardous materials situation apparently was sparked by someone throwing a substance at the governor’s office, and other areas of the Capitol,” reported the Chicago Sun-Times.

Upping the ante was the revelation by State Rep. Steve Andersson, among the 15 of the House Republicans who crossed over to vote in support of the measures, in an initial vote on Sunday, who “told lawmakers that he’s been receiving hate mail and death threats for his vote.” Game to the end he remarked, “If I have to take a couple of days of that I will be happy to do so,” to end the impasse, he said.

Other lawmakers, like Keith Wheeler, of Oswego, suggested that the votes were like putting lipstick on a pig, and exclaimed, “It’s time for us to get real,” Wheeler said. “It’s time for us to get to work and get reforms into actual statutes.”

The plan was that lawmakers were to “take up an override of three budgetary bills, including a revenue bill which will hike the income tax rate to 4.95 percent — a rate Rauner once supported — in order to help jump-start funds to the state.”

That portion increases the 3.75 percent personal income tax rate to 4.95 percent to generate about $4.3 billion. The corporate tax rate goes from 5.25 percent to 7 percent,and is expected to bring in about $460 million.

On Sunday, “the revenue bill passed with 72 votes . . .  including 15 House Republicans,” and the state Senate moved quickly to override Rauner’s vetoes on Independence Day, in a move that had Rauner erupting on Facebook that the move was a permanent tax hike, and that the school funding was a bailout for Chicago schools.

All things being not equal in this messy, and partisanship battle, “Moody’s Investor’s Services on Wednesday offered a stark reminder, placing the state’s current rating of Baa3 “on review for possible downgrade.”

In contrast two other agencies last week, S&P and Fitch praised the passage of the budget bills as progress. Still, says Moody’s, “despite the progress toward budget balance” in the legislative package, “… the plan appears to lack concrete measures that will materially improve Illinois’ long-term capacity to address its unfunded pension liabilities.”

Lacking funds, there was a backlog of unpaid bills totalling $14.5 billion dollars, and most of it owed to “social service agencies and public universities whose funds have dried up without a budget, there are some missing holes to fill, including funding for education. The $36.5 billion spending plan includes an additional $350 million to go toward a school funding formula,” noted the Times.

During the impasse, Illinois colleges, and universities, were substantially affected, especially Chicago based Northeastern Illinois University, which was forced to do layoffs to meet budgetary demands.

On Thursday NEIU released the following statement, from Interim President Richard Helldobler: ” With the passage of the Illinois budget, Northeastern Illinois University can finally after more than two years refocus its efforts from survival to building and enhancing an exceptional environment for its students. We have been tested by adversity, and we have affirmed the strength of Northeastern Illinois University during these extremely difficult times. Our University community, which includes more than 9,500 students, appreciates all those in Springfield who have worked in a bipartisan way and funded our future by supporting public higher education.”

Still on the plate is an evidence based school-funding formula, for elementary and high schools, promulgated by Democrats with a pending signature by the governor, which is unlikely to be had considering what is sure to be his wrath on the override, and the absence of his “turnaround agenda”, which called for among other things, substantial changes in collective bargaining, and also a property tax freeze that Democrats said would hurt schools in lower income neighborhoods.

The governor has said he’ll veto that bill, but the Dems “say they plan to send the bill to his desk soon and will try to override his veto. That means schools won’t get money from general state aid funds without a school formula bill either signed or overridden.”

It would also would mean another return to the capitol, this summer, and a second round of overrides; offering another protracted, and bitter, battle of the words between the governor and leaders such as Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.

The big hole is still the twinned horrors of the near $15 billion in unpaid bills, the state has accumulated, (that legislators say will be paid with loans and cash reserves), and the biggest elephant in the chamber, unpaid pensions since there’s is not enough money to fund the government employee pension system.

While there will be a sigh of relief, for some, it will most likely be mixed, the law of unintended consequences still bearing out with the weakened budget for schools, and the pension hole.

Add to those is the large tax increase, on an already burdened electorate, with much of the state paying higher than normal rates; and in Chicago, which has faced two intensive property taxes, and possibly a third, this may be a bitter pill to swallow.

Recently, there was a stay on the penny per ounce sugary soft drink tax, proposed by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, by a local judge, but many residents are now faced with the reality that Illinois is becoming more and more expensive to live in, especially for Chicagoans.

Affordable housing is an upward climb for minimum wage workers

One of the most challenging tasks for city dwellers, as the desire for urban living continues to grow, is to find affordable housing. For low-income to even moderate income workers, this has proved to be a daunting task. A recent report Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing 2017, co-released by Housing Action Illinois in partnership with the Illinois National Low Income Housing Coalition, reveals that the housing wage for Chicago is $23.69, and for the rest of Illinois, more than $20.00.

The report provides the Housing Wage and other housing affordability data for every state, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area, and county in the country.

Defined as the hourly wage a full-time worker has to earn to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, this housing wage, startling as it may seem, faces another dilemma from the budget proposals, presented by the Trump administration. These would undercut much of the existing help in the form of housing subsidies, limited year to year increases, and the like, that could easily force some to homelessness.

As the report states: “to afford a one-bedroom home, a worker earning Illinois’ minimum wage ($8.25 per hour) must hold down more than two full-time jobs and work 85 hours per week. To afford a modest two-bedroom unit, a family with two minimum wage earners must work the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs, or 101 hours per week, between them.”

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect is that the authors found that “despite the cost of rental housing being out of reach for low-income households, President Trump’s federal budget proposal for next year includes deep cuts to rental assistance and programs that create affordable housing. Overall, the proposed budget allocates just $40.7 billion for HUD programs in Fiscal Year 2018—$7.4 billion (15 percent) below what was recently approved for Fiscal Year 2017.”

As if that were not enough, “the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that President Trump’s budget proposal would cut 10,734 housing vouchers, slash more than $107 million from our state’s public housing funding, and eliminate approximately $149 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and $40.5 million in HOME funds. Nationally, the proposal would also cut $133 million from homeless assistance grants and eliminate the National Housing Trust Fund.”

“The federal budget proposed by President Trump will increase the shortage of rental housing affordable to people with the lowest incomes,” says Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois. “People who can’t find an affordable home in the private market rely on federal funding for housing choice vouchers, public housing and other programs that make rent affordable. Parents with stable housing are in a much better position to make sure their children thrive in school and in life compared to parents who are struggling with homelessness."

Bob Palmer

In a phone interview with Palmer, he expanded on this, and other aspects of the report findings, noting that “low wage workers, whether they are teens, or students, will not be able to afford current rents, until there is higher employment, and it will especially be hard with rents that are 30 percent higher than their income, unless there is an increase in the number of affordable places to rent, and [correspondingly] higher wages.”

According to Out of Reach 2017, the average cost of rent and utilities for a two-bedroom apartment in Illinois is $1,085 per month.  In order to afford this without paying more than the standard of no more than 30% of income on housing, “a household must earn at least $43,406 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a Housing Wage of $20.87.”

As he emphasized, “while the housing stock available depends on where it is located, some neighborhoods, like Logan Square and the South Loop have quickly rising housing costs, and after the foreclosure crisis, there has been a decrease in the housing supply. Now, there are, on the South and West sides, softer markets, but the area has also faced decreased incomes, that are 50 percent of resident income, that generally have lower rents compared to north side communities, there is a shortage of affordable rental housing for extremely low-income households.”

“Out of Reach finds that in no state, even those where the minimum wage has been set above the federal standard, can a minimum wage renter working a 40-hour work week afford a one-bedroom rental unit at the average Fair Market Rent.”

The change in the minimum wage, last week to $15.00 an hour, offers much needed relief to low wage workers, and effects over 2 million working Illinoisans (more than 40 percent of the state workforce are paid less than $15) and awaits the governor's signature. But, unless there is enough housing stock to meet the demand for affordable housing, as the housing wage figures show, it won’t be enough, says Palmer.

A recent story in the Chicago Reader detailed the history behind the absence, indeed the illegality of rent control in Chicago. It was created decades ago, to preserve profit margins, often labelling them counterproductive to American economic standards. The bill, titled “The Rent Control Preemption Act,” was passed in 1997. I asked Palmer how much an effect this might also have, since many housing subsidies designed to help low income people, might be labelled as such. He acknowledged that while “rent control is illegal in Illinois, passed many years ago, and has a negative effect on affordability, and the lack of an adequate supply, then more affordable units have to be built. There has to be a public role in creating enough housing.”

Support on the federal level has come from Rep. Keith Ellison, who notes in his preface that, “Rents are soaring in every state and community at that same time when most Americans haven’t seen enough of an increase in their paychecks. The result: more than 7 million extremely low income families do not have an affordable place to call home and half a million people are living on the street, in shelters, or in their cars on any given night. The human toll this places on families – through stress and job loss – are extraordinary and well documented.”

Continuing, he says that,”Despite the clear need, Congress has failed to address the affordable housing crisis in this country. Because of chronic underfunding, three out of every four families go without the housing assistance they need. Families wait for years on waiting lists before they see any assistance whatsoever. This is unacceptable. We can and must do better as a nation.”

As Palmer notes there is the much needed role of political will to move the needle on an issue that threatens the social fabric of the country. State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) has rallied a new bill to rescind the old law. While this represents a start, the effort still needs more of a push to change the situation, yet as the figures from the proposed Trump budget, show this will be a long haul.

Ellison concurs, but, also, states that “The most shameful part is the fact that we already have the resources and solutions needed to effectively end homelessness and housing poverty for millions of families. We just need the political will to do what is right. Each year, Congress spends about $200 billion to help house American families. A full three-fourths of these resources go to help subsidize the homes of the richest families through the mortgage interest deduction and other homeownership tax benefits. This means that we provide more housing assistance to help the richest 7 million households – who earn more than $200,000 a year – than to help the 55 million households that earn less than $50,000 each year, even though these families are far more likely to struggle to keep a roof over their head.”

To that effect, he has “put forward a plan to rebalance scarce housing resources to increase investment in proven solutions for those who need it most. The Common Sense Housing Investment Act (H.R. 948) reforms the mortgage interest deduction so that it better serves low- and moderate-income homeowners and reinvests the savings to help more families struggling to pay their rent. In fact, under my plan, 15 million more homeowners who currently do not benefit from the mortgage interest deduction will see a much-needed tax break. More than $241 billion will be reinvested to make rental homes affordable to people with the greatest needs.”

Ellison is part of the Progressive Congressional Caucus a group that also includes Illinois Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky; and they have created a budget proposal, far different than the one by Trump, titled The People's Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance FY 2018, and as Democrats, take a sharp turn away from the president’s proposal and issues a call to “Fully funds programs to make housing affordable and accessible for all Americans,” and “Invests $12.8 billion to end family homelessness.”

As just about everyone knows, by now, the state of Illinois has gone without a formal budget for two years, and now, while the House and Senate have passed their own versions, with the House not yet voting on the Senate version, there remains a discrepancy that affects affordable housing that the Coalition describes on its website: “The Senate Democrats did demonstrate a positive way forward by passing a budget that protects existing resources and generates new revenue. However, one budget line item in that proposal is particularly representative of the choices faced by our elected officials. In the Senate Democrat’s budget proposal for the upcoming year, FY 18, which passed on May 23, the Supportive Housing Services line item was funded at $13.4 million in General Revenue Funds (GRF). This is same amount of funding that was available in the last fiscal year with a full budget, FY 15."

"A version of the FY 18 budget—a compromise between Democrats and Republicans—that passed the Senate just a week earlier, May 17, provided only $3.8 million in GRF for the Supportive Housing Services line item. Such a huge cut would mean that thousands of people who need services to help maintain their housing would not receive those services and be at risk of homelessness," they state.

Working for an improvement in basic human needs, is not a privilege, to be granted, but a necessity for a just society; and the Out of Reach report is a first step in achieving that goal.

Proposed merger of CTU with charter union: a new direction

Updated June 10, 2017

Regular readers of this blog, and my now defunct column for the Examiner, have noted how often I have written about the politicization of public education in America, both its supporters and its detractors, as well as those who have been tasked with cabinet level positions, yet seem oblivious as to the huge stake in social capital that is at risk, for doing so little, or failing to recognize the very real needs of the nation’s future.

Chicago has the nation’s third largest school system, but one that is predominantly black and brown, and faces the neglect, in some quarters, of the very real needs that these young people require.

The Trump administration has given a huge push for charter schools, yet local test scores are significantly higher for those that attend neighborhood schools. The drain on the taxpayer’s dollar do not seem to reflect the somewhat narrow success that some charters deliver, paid with taxpayer dollars, and managed by for profit companies. The inherent dichotomy is apparent, to all who look, and the situation, does not seem to have improved, at least currently.

Last week the Chicago Teachers Union announced a public proposal to merge with the union of local charter school teachers, CHiActs, the Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, in order to preserve, and enhance teacher unity directed toward student achievement.

Recently two schools, ASPIRA and Passages narrowly avoided the prospect of the first charter school strike, in the country.  Much of the conflict was directed towards salary, benefits, classroom resources, and professional equity.

In a letter obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, they stated: “We believe that unification is a key step to allow educators to speak with one voice in Chicago, halt privatization and bring additional resources to our collective work at the CTU,” the letter says. “That said, merging two dynamic locals into a single union is a delicate process and will inevitably bring challenges and tensions. We must be intentional about addressing both sets of members’ questions, concerns and commitments to having a clear voice, representation and identity within the new, larger organization.”

Karen Lewis

“We’ve got the same problems with the school budget, same problems with financial oversight and having a say in how budgets are spent,” Chris Baehrend, president of ChiACTS Local 4343, said. “The majority of our schools have seen enrollment decline, budget cuts and layoffs. . . . We’re really facing the same problems and then if you really think about it, it doesn’t matter who cuts our check. We’re servicing the same kids.”

Update: In less than four days, on a Friday afternoon, it was announced that members of both unions overwhelmingly agreed to the merger. The vote was 671 v. 130. A joint statement read, "CTU members will vote on unification with ChiACTS this fall. Ballots from union charter schools were counted tonight after the close of the Friday school day. Final vote counts of the 1,000-strong union were 671 in favor and 130 against unifying -- or about 84% of voting members supporting unification."

“All Chicago educators, charter and district, face the same challenges -- shrinking budgets, layoffs, union-busting, lack of voice, and a wholesale assault on the quality of the education of our students,” said Chris Baehrend, President of ChiACTS Local 4343 -- the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers And Staff -- which represents 32 charter schools in Chicago. “This vote for unification is a vote for educators with both ChiACTS and the CTU to speak with a stronger collaborative voice for real educational justice for all of our students. It is our identity as public educators -- not our employers -- that defines us, and our overwhelming vote for unity affirms that charter educators are educators first, and servants of the public with a shared commitment to the futures of our students across the city.”

The next step is that CTU will engage in its constitutional change process in the fall, and a formal merger will occur pending a supportive vote from CTU members. “The CTU supports union rights for all educators in Chicago, including charter school teachers,” said CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey. “Local 4343’s vote for unity takes a stand for using our collective power to support quality public education for the students we all serve.”

Charters when they first were promoted, seemed like a great idea, especially for those that were less enchanted with their local school systems; and when I was living in Washington, the mere mention of charter schools brought near beatific smiles of pleasure, and self-satisfaction, if your child was enrolled in one of them.

“The immense freedom that came with setting up charter schools is increasingly under fire, spawning union drives, potential strikes and pushback over pay and working conditions that are reshaping the way charter schools were expected to operate, usually in a nonunion environment,” and has removed much of the afterglow from parents and some lawmakers, noted the Chicago Tribune in an insightful analysis.

A pro-labor town, "Chicago has become the epicenter of charter union organizing in the country," said Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

With that in mind, the erstwhile, and always outspoken, CTU President Karen Lewis has said, “"It's not about destroying charter schools," she said. "Charter schools are here; they're not going anywhere. So the key is, how do you make them a bitter pill to their management companies? It's the management companies we have the issues with, not the charter teachers, not the students, not the parents. The key is, organize people to fight for fairer conditions of work, and then that's good for everybody."

The Trib noted that “Chicago charter union said it represents about 1,000 teachers at 32 charter schools in Chicago, which is about 25 percent of charter schools citywide. That's double the national percentage,” proving once again, that Chicago can go to the mat for issues that it believes in. We may be known as the city of broad shoulders, but also for some old-fashioned chutzpah, or moxie, depending on your origins.

In March, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, and five other Illinois lawmakers, announced plans for a new law forbidding the opening of new charters in areas that were already financially distressed, under the premise, that if those areas are financially strained, then they should not open new schools. He also noted,”With CPS in dire financial trouble, we must take swift action to prevent privately managed charter operators from siphoning needed funds away from the public, neighborhood schools.”

This seems right, to me, yet there has been some blowback, most notably in a Tribune editorial that bemoaned the diminishing choice for parents, and that underused school buildings of CPS could be used for charters, but this also seems like a Trojan Horse to increase more charters.

Adding to the cacophony of voices from the legislature is the passage of a new funding formula for Chicago public schools who have the largest spending gap, per pupil, in the nation. Long a subject of debate, and much bemoaned fact, the new legislation offers a solution, for them, that allows those schools in distressed areas to get more money, while ensuring that there would be no change from last year’s funding, to assuage fears from wealthier school districts, fearing they might get less.

Predictability the response, from Republicans, especially, outside of the city, is that this is a bailout, yet, while that might be, what else can be done? In these challenging times, how can those less affluent, be ensured of a decent education? Not to mention the 855 school districts, which include CPS and downstate.

The old system, based on property taxes, clearly was not working, and combined with a low contribution, from the state, which in 2015 was one-quarter, it was clear that this could not continue long.

Chicago schools received an amount significantly lower than New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Nebraska, according to the last census, even with the Feds making up the balance.

Looking at the numbers, Lake County spends $32,000 per pupil, in 2016 and CPS, getting $15,000 per pupil; and the lowest was $4,340 for a District 92 school.

A large part of the problem was that lawmakers from the wealthier districts would not vote to take money from their constituents, to help, those that receive less. And in a conundrum, one of the bipartisan educational panel members, State Rep. Bob Pritchard, of Hinckley, did not vote on the bill, when it came to a votel. Stating that “creating a crisis”, would be necessary, he says that  everything else has been tried.

Prticahrd’s remarks, suggest a desire for a compromise, of sorts, during this interview with NPR affiliate, WBEZ, where it was noted, that he felt, “the plan just needs work, and there's no way he'd vote against it.”

If all of this seems like a decades long cyclical, then that seems to be part of what Illinois politics have become, an eternally long loop. When will it end?