Pilsen community leader demands that Board members, Huberman support schools' funding, not TIF expansion
[Editor's Introduction by George N. Schmidt. The following is provided to us by one of the speakers at the May 26, 2010 meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. Gema Gaete, of Pilsen Alliance, demanded that the members of the Chicago Board of Education who serve Mayor Daley on the TIFs use their TIF votes to support the schools, not the expansion of the mayor's TIF slush fund.
Surrounded by friends from the community, students, and others, Gema Gaete of Pilsen neighbors demanded that Ron Huberman and the members of the Board of Education take a stand to have TIF and Olympic Bid dollars go to the schools instead of into projects ordered for his friends by Mayor Daley. After refusing three times to answer Ms. Gaete's questions, the President of the Chicago Board of Education ordered Board security to "escort her [Gema] out!" The order was not carried out when security personnel noted the possible consequences. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt. The result of Ms. Gaete's request was that Chicago Board of Educaton President Mary Richardson Lowry, who has recently been serving the mayor on TIF work, tried to order the Board's security staff to take her away. The only reason why the Board President's order was not carried out is that Ms. Gaete was surrounded by friends, and the security staff showed the wisdom of their training in not making a violent incident out of the event. However, we need to note, for the record, that had the autocratic Mary Richardseon Lowry had her way, Board security would have gotten more oppressive on May 26, 2010. Since it was already oppressive to an unprecedented degree, that is a statement worth considering].
Gema Gaete's statement:
Mr Huberman and Board of Education members, we have given you ample time to respond to our request to vote for TIF funds to be used to save our schools.
Once again I ask you to exert your power as a voting member of the Joint Reveue Board to advocate to utilize TIF funds to balance CPS budget. Just to remind you, TIF funds have diverted over $300 million from CPS budget last year. Lets get out money back.
Gema Gaete demanded to know that Huberman would ask that TIF money goes to the schools. For her trouble she was threatened with security by Board President Mary Richardson-Lowry. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Just as you put your efforts to gather folks to go down state to petiion funds for CPS you should put the effort in advocating and asking your long time buddy, Daley, to stop using our TIF funds for his pet projects and use it to remedy this budget crisis.
You need to be on the phone with Daley; stop hoping and start working.
Mr. Huberman, put our children first. There is currently between $800-$850 million in TIF revenue and an additional $300 from the Olymoic bid.
We also requested a participatory community budget hearing which entails full disclosure of the budget, provide all disclosure of incoming, outgoing and reserve funds. Disclosure of all Federal, State, and Municipal funds being used for the next fiscal year — and full community participation.
Will you exert your power as Joint Review Board to advocate to utilize TIF funds to save our school?
Ms Gaete wrote to Substance by e-mail: "Then, Mary Richardson - Lowry said she will put it under advisement. I told her they had a whole month to review our request, which was made last month. She kept on reapeting that it wil go "under advisement", and they wil get back to me me. I kept on asking When ? When ? When? Of course — no response and Huberman went mute."
Part of the security deployment involves blocking other members of the public from coming forward after the President of the Board, Ron Huberman, or security chief Michael Shields orders the massive deployment of security to move against a speaker. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Editor's final note: At the April 28 Board of Education meeting, Ron Huberman kept saying that there would be "hearings." Members of the public thought that meant there would be hearings on the cuts being made in April, May and June 2010 to the Fiscal 2010 budget. At the end of the Board meeting, Huberman presented a typical Power Point in which it was revealed that the "hearings" he had been promising to the public were scheduled for August 2010 — and that they were to be on the FY 2011 budget months after he had made the massive cuts at the end of FY 2010.
