Progress Illinois

Hoping to capitalize on the upcoming change in leadership at City Hall, a coalition of Chicago teachers, community organizations, and parents are calling on the next mayor to cede control of the Chicago Public Schools.

At a news conference in Chicago yesterday, education advocates who argue that CPS is not improving quickly enough demanded a "fundamental change in school governance." Under their plan, which would require a change in state law, Chicago School Board members would not be appointed by the mayor's office. Rather, the board would be elected by voters. Of the 13 proposed seats, seven would be reserved for parents and community members (three from the South Side, two from the North Side, and two from the West Side) while six would be filled by education professionals. The current board, which Daley has controlled since 1995, consists of seven officials drawn from influential financial and consulting firms, none of whom have a background in education. This proposal comes on the heels of a push by the increasingly-assertive Chicago Teachers Union and its allies to ensure that the next appointed CPS CEO has experience in schools.

Three mayoral candidates -- Rahm Emanuel, Carol Moseley Braun, and Gery Chico -- expressed skepticism about the plan. Chico, who once served as Chicago Board of Education President under Mayor Richard Daley, said in a release that the change would "create 13 new politicians." Miguel Del Valle offered qualified support for the idea, so long as the city implements public financing of political campaigns to open up the election process. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis backs school board elections but is wary of mandating "what kind of people will be on a board." Expect this proposal to be a heavy topic of conversation in 2011.

The mayoral candidates forum the Chicago Teachers Union sponsored last week featured Carol Moseley Braun, Miguel del Valle, James Meeks, Gery Chico, and William Walls. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who was in Washington for the Congressional lame duck session, sent a statement about his educational policies that Cliff Kelly, the forum moderator and radio talk show host, read to the audience. Rahm Emanuel did not attend.

The crowd seemed to tilt toward Moseley Braun, del Valle, and Walls. Chico and Meeks, both of whom support creating a voucher system within Chicago Public Schools, had the longest to go to win over the assembled teachers. To that end, Chico tried to emphasize his plans to cut one-third of the CPS central staff and Meeks reminded the audience he introduced SB 750 in Springfield, a bill that sought to increase the state income tax to pay for education.

Progress Illinois chatted with a few teachers after the event, asking which candidates, if any, stood out. Take a look at a few of the responses we heard:

No policy arena has received more attention from Chicago's mayoral contenders than education. At this stage in the race, candidates Gery Chico, Rahm Emanuel, and James Meeks have all released proposals detailing their plans for Chicago Public Schools (read them here, here, and here, respectively).

Among the highlights of what we know about the candidates' education ideas so far: Chico and Meeks' plans both endorse providing vouchers to CPS students; Chico wants 30,000 and Meeks says 50,000 is the right number. Emanuel's proposal includes creating a local version of the Obama administration's Race to the Top program and he has signaled that more school turnarounds are likely on the way. The always controversial practice of shuttering CPS schools came up Tuesday at the New Chicago 2011 forum, with Carol Moseley Braun saying school closings shouldn't happen without engaging parents. Miguel del Valle criticized a "parallel system of public education in Chicago" on Tuesday, saying, "It's time to focus on neighborhood schools ... that can be done without closing schools." Danny Davis has endorsed electing the Chicago Board of Education.

At an education forum last night, meanwhile, Meeks, del Valle, and Chico all endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn's pitch to raise the state income tax from 3 to 4 percent, Ward Room reports, but Braun is opposed. It's good to hear that the candidates are thinking about how state government relates to CPS. Whether it's Quinn's tax plan or the upcoming education reform fight, Springfield is awash in schools issues these days.

The debate about education continues tonight, as the Chicago Teachers Union holds their own mayoral event on the Near South Side.