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layoffs
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
2:16pm
Fri Jun 14

CPS' Per-Student Budgets Will Exacerbate School Inequality, Education Experts Say

The Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) new per-student budgeting system spells big cuts for some schools, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and local school officials are learning.

CPS released next year’s individual school budgets to principals last week and, according to the CTU, schools across the city are seeing 10 percent to 25 percent cuts in funding. The union and education experts predict these cuts will lead to eliminated positions and more split-level classes, among other negative outcomes.

So far, a handful of schools have reported to seeing their budgets slashed by more than one million dollars.

“What we’re going to see is a degradation of education in neighborhood public schools, which is likely to result in even a widening of the inequalities that we already have in CPS,” said Pauline Lipman, professor of educational policy studies and director of the Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
3:50pm
Thu Jun 13

Sun-Times Photojournalists Continue Fight Against Layoffs (VIDEO)

In firing all 28 members of its full-time photography staff, the Chicago Sun-Times is weakening the integrity of the newspaper, according to approximately 50 protesters who demonstrated against the layoffs in downtown Chicago Thursday.

Directing their message toward the company’s executives and chanting “shame on you,” some of the city’s most recognized photojournalists, including Pulitzer Prize winner John H. White, expressed their outrage and dismay during a press conference at the Thompson Center.

“We’re the heartbeat out there,” said White, 68, who worked at the Sun-Times as a photojournalist for 44 years. “We have this intrinsic connectedness with life, and as long as there are people, and people are always going to want to know the news, there will always be the visual. A lot of people can’t read or write, but everybody understands the language of a photograph.” Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
2:04pm
Wed May 22

Protesters Rally Against Proposed CPS Closings Outside Board of Education Meeting (VIDEO)

Energy was high outside the Chicago Board of Education meeting Wednesday morning as education activists, union members, teachers, students and parents gathered in anticipation of a vote that could close a staggering amount of schools across the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district.

“All I keep hearing is ‘we’re doing this for the kids,’ but there’s not been one iota of a discussion about the educational plan,” said Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), said as she arrived for the meeting.

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PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
6:22pm
Fri May 10

Women Speak Out On CPS School Closings & Immigration Reform As Mother's Day Weekend Begins (VIDEO)

Politics

Including the voice of women, and particularly mothers, in pending issues across the city, state, and country is increasingly important, according to several organizations which saw the start of Mother’s Day weekend as an opportunity to advocate for their causes.