Monday, July 31, 2017

Someone is holding Chicago hostage rather than believing in the best interests of the city.

A modest return on such a loan is the only interest any bondholder should expect. This type of debt is only asking for the beginnings of bankruptcy.

The city's unions should be aware that by the time Detroit's debt was reconciled it was the unions and their pensions that were taking the biggest hit and not the bond holders. The Wall Street darlings are a problem when it comes to financing city debt.

We know the Republican Party is robbing the public school systems of valuable funding, but, taking on the idea that "Charter Schools" are suppose to be experimental and not permanent is the best way of addressing THE WAYWARD MOVEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDING TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. All the students of the Chicago Public Schools should be benefiting from what was learned in Charter Schools. Charter Schools were never suppose to be a parasite to the great good of all students.

July 31, 2017
By Juan Perez Jr. and Peter Matuszak

Chicago Public Schools' latest long-term borrowing deal (click here) will buy the district a bit of financial breathing room through 2019 but comes at an immense cost to future generations.
By the time the $500 million loan is paid off, children now entering kindergarten will be in their mid-30s and the school district will have spent $850 million in interest costs alone — making the total expense of the bond issue a whopping $1.35 billion.
And only a small fraction of the money from the long-term bonds issued in July will be used for school construction or classroom improvements, which budget experts say should be the primary use for long-term debt. CPS is using the biggest chunk of the loan to reimburse itself for failed bond market deals the district previously covered with cash. Another large portion will be used to shave a few hundred million dollars off old debts — even as it extends those debts as much as 25 years.
In addition, the deal commits an enormous sum of state aid to bondholders through 2046, even as state funding remains at the center of an ongoing battle in Springfield. If state aid is ever not enough to cover bond payments, CPS has pledged to turn to property taxes to pay for the loan....

Funding the Chicago Public Schools should be a priority to the Secretary of Education in Washington, DC. Chicago Public Schools need a bailout. Chicago is among the highest, if not the highest, city with murder rates greater than 1 (one).

See, this is what kinda of bothers me about Foster Care. The children, majority are minority, are removed from their homes lose any sense of belonging. As these children grow older, gangs give them an identity, purpose and belonging. Anyone who is still wondering why there is such violence in Chicago needs to realize the enormous failure of Foster Care and the destruction of families in that city. 

Every effort should be made to support the FAMILY over and above some "institutionalized failure chain" that begins with being born into crime.

The problems of the young families of Chicago are enormous, but, destroying families by taking children away from their parents is not the answer. The children need TEMPORARY housing as was the definition of Foster Parents back in the day. The parents/parent needs to receive help in determining a productive future for them/him/her and their children. Where those NEEDS are met by the reality of poverty, the Foster Parent Adoption Subsidies should follow the child NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE HOUSED, INCLUDING THEIR NATURAL FAMILY!

THERE AIN'T NO RICH KIDS ON THE ADOPTION SUBSIDY LIST.

Chicago schools need to be the hub of successful families and that won't happen until the school system is bailed out and provided with high quality education, classrooms and teachers. 

END OF DISCUSSION, is the Secretary of Education listening. She has a real challenge before her and she needs to GET STARTED providing the Chicago Public School System with INTACT public education that exudes excellence with well supported families recovering from decades of racism and fractured families.