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City Council met to discuss Chicago Public Schools. We recap that meeting and detail the city’s budget crisis.
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Left: Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference on March 20, 2024. Right: Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez appears on “Chicago Tonight” on May 7, 2024. (WTTW News)
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As turmoil swirls around the Chicago Public Schools, a push by the Chicago City Council to put CEO Pedro Martinez and board members on the hot seat fizzled Wednesday. No current or former members of the Chicago Board of Education attended the session of the City Council’s Education Committee, even after some City Council members threatened to hit them with subpoenas to require them to appear. Martinez did show.
Why didn't they show?
What happened in the meeting?
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Martinez spoke of the need for additional aid from the state and his commitment to investing in Chicago schools and students.
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Alderpeople also pressed Martinez about his decision to compile a list of schools with extremely low enrollments that could be closed or combined with other schools. He said it was crafted to anticipate being asked to consider closing schools amid a budget deficit.
Some backstory:
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The district has been engulfed in turmoil since the CPS board approved a budget for 2025 that did not make a required $175 million payment to one of its employee pension funds or set aside money to pay for a new CTU contract.
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Martinez believes the City Council should fill that gap with property tax revenue now set aside in special funds designed to fight blight across the city. Mayor Johnson has proposed borrowing money to cover those costs.
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago’s dire financial condition is rooted in decades of mismanagement, leaving no quick fixes that will bridge a projected $982.4 million budget shortfall in 2025, according to a new report from the Civic Federation.
The city is staring into a financial abyss after hitting the so-called “fiscal cliff,” with federal COVID-19 relief funds exhausted, according to Joseph Ferguson, the head of the nonpartisan budget watchdog group and the city’s former inspector general. “A generation-long persistence in structurally imbalanced budgets, coupled with high pension and debt burdens, mean the city will face enormous budget shortfalls in the coming years,” he wrote.
Here's what else the report said:
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Chicago’s finances remain structurally unbalanced, pinched by soaring pension costs, spiraling personnel costs and massive debt. The city’s fiscal stability is also threatened by the crises facing the Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago Public Schools.
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The report does not make specific recommendations to Mayor Johnson, who is set to lay out his plan to fill not just the shortfall facing the city in 2025 but also the $222.9 million gap in this year’s city budget. The City Council has a deadline of Dec. 31 to approve a spending plan.
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However, it urges the city to eliminate “unneeded or dormant” vacant positions. That could shrink the city’s overall deficit by hundreds of millions of dollars and reduce the city’s budget for the Chicago Police Department.
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Another option is to order a “long-term furlough of employees across city departments, effected through an unpaid day off every two-week pay period.”
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Also From WTTW News: |
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Downtown’s only intercity bus terminal will remain open and Greyhound service will continue as is, reports Amanda Vinicky.
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Chicago’s Board of Education is no longer scheduled to meet this month after seven members abruptly resigned following ongoing turmoil between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
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Back in the Day: October 17, 2019 - First Day of the Chicago Teachers Strike
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Five years ago this morning at 6:30 am, more than 25,000 Chicago Teachers Union and school staff members went on strike. The action, which fought for higher pay and more school resources, shuttered the nation’s third-largest school district leaving 300,000 students out of the classroom. Chants of “fair contract!” and “Mayor Lightfoot, get on the right foot!” rang through the air outside public schools citywide that morning. In what was then Lori Lightfoot’s first major test as mayor, she felt the city had compromised enough and the CTU’s asks, which included measures to reduce class sizes, increase teacher preparation time, and more, were too costly. The strike ended after 15 days on Halloween when the mayor and CTU reached a tentative agreement that included a 16% pay raise over five years. The CTU and the city are currently engaged in bargaining sessions for a renewed contract and have yet to reach an agreement.
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Arts and Culture Events Recommendations From Marc Vitali
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“Until, Until, Until …” (Paula Court)
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Every Thursday, WTTW News culture correspondent Marc Vitali highlights can’t miss local events.
There are lots of sublime cultural events happening, and at least one ridiculous one. Okay, ridiculous but for a good cause. That’s because the Amazing Acro-Cats perform at Skokie Theatre this weekend. Yes, trained housecats and strays will purr their way through a Halloween-themed purrformance to benefit a local animal rescue and no-kill shelter. Read on for arts and culture options that won’t shed.
DCASE Chicago Made Music Showcase Finale – Chicago Cultural Center
Aspiring recording artists are the pulse of this annual showcase hosted by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. 15 finalists perform before a live audience and a panel of industry pros to win a $10,000 prize. Oct 19.
“Dressed in History” – Chicago History Museum
Get suited up for an exhibition of 70 rare objects – from Christian Dior gowns to Air Jordans – all from the museum’s respected costume collection, which just won a preservation grant from the National Park Service. Opens Saturday.
Mozart Coronation Mass – Symphony Center
Soul-stirring music from Handel and Beethoven, plus Mozart’s grand Coronation Mass. The orchestra and chorus are led by guest conductor Nicholas Kraemer (Music of the Baroque) and four soloists make their CSO debuts. Oct 17-19
Mariachi, Magic and More – Destinos Festival
From a one-woman show with a Mariachi band (“Jocey Y Las Mariachis”) to a magician from Ecuador (“The Magic Parlour presents Siegfried Tieber”) this international Latino theater fest is just heating up. Various dates to Nov 17.
“Until, Until, Until …” – Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
MCA Chicago presents a live show that explores Ben Vereen’s infamous blackface performance at Ronald Reagan’s inaugural gala. Artist Edgar Arceneaux restages and reframes the controversial event and its aftermath. Oct 17-19.
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With the weather likely changing soon, what’s one fun thing you did outside in Chicago this year? Tell us what, where, and why it was a blast. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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