Posts tagged Chicago City Council
Chicago Teachers Union urges city to end TIF districts, send $1 billion in funds to Chicago Public Schools
October 10, 2024 // TIF districts essentially freeze property taxes collected from a specific area, with the extra tax money generated from improved property values going to a fund intended to support development projects in blighted communities. But critics of TIF districts have said they amount to slush funds for elected officials to subsidize real estate developers without properly addressing the needs of low-income communities. CTU officials said their plan to sweep TIF funds back to CPS would help the district avoid mass program and personnel cuts, but it doesn't end there. They also said it would prevent school closures and staff furloughs, all of which they insist are currently on the table under CPS CEO Pedro Martinez's leadership.
Op-Ed: The Chicago Teachers Union now runs the mayor’s office
April 13, 2023 // CTU leadership’s brand of union politics has little to do with students and teacher representation and more to do with an expansive political agenda that includes defunding the police, hiking taxes (on “the rich,” broadly), and pumping more city resources into the Chicago Public Schools system, where classroom spending is way up and student outcomes way down since the Caucus of Rank and File Educators rose to power. Since 2010, CTU has drawn the blueprint for how to seize control over America’s largest cities. The union runs the schools, holding as hostage Chicago kids and families whenever union bosses are unhappy with management. They also donate to the bulk of the Chicago City Council, having contributed financially to 34 of Chicago’s 50 current aldermen. But their reach expands beyond the city to politicians in the Illinois statehouse. In total, CTU since 2010 has spent at least $19 million on politics in Illinois, including over $2.5 million to Illinois Senate and House candidates.