Stature of Mayor Emanuel, entry of out-of-state reform groups into fray bringing CPS-CTU contract clash to center of national debate
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah and Joel Hood
(From Chicago Tribune, June 1st, 2012)
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s star power within the Democratic Party has put a national spotlight on the fight over the future of public schools in Chicago and attracted support from education reform groups eager to see how much change can be effected in a pro-labor city.
“The headlines from Chicago are emailed around to mayors and policymakers every morning,” said Joe Williams, head of Washington,D.C.-based Democrats for Education Reform, a group started by Wall Street hedge fund managers. “I think people want to see what’s possible, both politically and on the ground in schools and in communities.”
Democrats for Education Reform and another major education organization, Oregon-based Stand for Children, have each established themselves in Chicago and are working to build backing for Emanuel’s education agenda.
Last year, Stand for Children raised nearly $3.5 million to drive through groundbreaking education reform legislation in Illinois. Now, the group is using sophisticated telemarketing techniques and advertising to build a strong base of parental support for many of the changes sought by Chicago Public Schools.
Democrats for Education Reform came to town about four months ago to convince Democratic politicians to get behind educational reform, even if it runs counter to their traditional allegiance to labor.
The two reform groups are playing a role in an increasingly heated fray, and last week held a joint news conference to lambaste the Chicago Teachers Union for threatening a strike while talks are ongoing. The same day, 5,000 teachers rallied in and around the Auditorium Theatre, shouting “fight” and “strike” and booing every mention of Emanuel before taking to the streets in a march led by CTU President Karen Lewis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
While a Tribune/WGN poll released last month showed a majority of Chicago voters, especially CPS parents, side with the union over the mayor on overall attempts to improve education, the union’s organized opposition is formidable.
Stand for Children’s local efforts are being bankrolled by wealthy and politically powerful Chicagoans, many of whom have influence within the district. For example, Bruce Rauner, a venture capitalist who played a key role in bringing Stand for Children to Chicago, met with CPS officials 13 times over nine months as new chief Jean-Claude Brizard’s team was shaping policy, CPS records show.
Efforts to advance the growth of charter schools or attack teacher tenure have gone further in other cities, but what draws national interest to Chicago is that the moves are being led by Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, education experts said.