CHICAGO — Backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, top Illinois Republicans called Wednesday for a state takeover of the financially troubled Chicago Public Schools, which faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit that could lead to thousands of teacher layoffs and a possible strike in a matter of months.
Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno called the plan a “lifeline” for CPS and Rauner said it’s a way to protect children and taxpayers, though Democrats quickly shot down the idea.
Radogno and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said the legislation would give the Illinois State Board of Education control over the nation’s third-largest school district. They also noted that GOP lawmakers may reveal a bankruptcy plan for CPS and the city of Chicago in the coming weeks, but didn’t offer many details.
“What we’re proposing is a lifeline,” Radogno said of CPS, which has a massive unfunded pension liability. “We didn’t come to this lightly, but the track record of Chicago and its public school system is abysmal.”
The plan calls for the state schools superintendent, who is chosen by a governor-appointed board, to name up to seven members of an independent authority that would essentially replace Chicago’s school board, which is chosen by the mayor. They would also negotiate teacher contracts, though Republicans said the authority wouldn’t be able to “unilaterally cancel or modify” existing agreements.
At least seven districts in Illinois have come under state management since 2003, including East St. Louis in 2012, which was fought hard by people in the struggling St. Louis suburb.
