AND THEY CALL THIS 'ETHICS'!?: The city's chief fraudster gives a lecture on 'ethics'... A memo from Chicago's quarter million dollar schools CEO... While Rahm's cuddling up to Thyssen Krupp brings flashbacks to some of Rahm's own neighbors...
Less than two months after the Chicago Board of Education's release of the CAFR for FT 2011 showed that all the tall tales he's telling about "tough times" and tight budgets are lies, Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Brizard, in an explosion of cheekiness that in another culture would be called Chutzpah, decided at the end of last week to lecture Chicago's principals and other administrators on "ethnics," to underscore a Rat Line to the Inspector General, and to once again prove that the Bigger the Lie, the More Likely CPS is to Tell It. And all this happens the same day Chicago's Millionaire Capitalist Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, decides to hype a new alliance with one of the most infamous names in world corporate history: Thyssen-Krupp.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel keeps a close eye on his ethically challenged Schools CEO, Jean-Claude Brizard, during the December 13, 2011 press conference at Chicago Police Headquarters following the unveiling of "CompStat CPS." Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.But let's begin with Brizard. On February 4, Chicago principals and other administrators opened their mailboxes to receive another sermon from "J.C." (as Rahm calls his buddy) about "ethnics." Now before reading this, remember that this is the same "J.C." who came to Chicago at a salary of a quarter million dollars a year, with a fee of $35,000 for "relocation expenses," and with the promise of a "bonus" ("merit pay" for all top administrators) if he could cook the books, which he basically did by declaring half the city's public schools to be "failures" under a new set of "matrices" that he can't explain to his own staff, let alone the rest of the world. But, no matter. The team of "J.C. and Rahm" marches on, a living breathing example of how ideology and fervor — back by billionaires and bullshit — can never be stopped by facts or reality.
First: J.C.'s "Ethics" note:
From: Jean Claude Brizard
Sent: Thu 2/2/2012 2:58 PM
Subject: Ethical Conduct and Financial Accountability
Dear colleagues,
In light of recent reports from our external auditors and the CPS Inspector General, as well as various news stories depicting ethical misconduct on the part of a small number of CPS staff, I want to take a moment to stress the importance of ethical conduct and financial accountability for all CPS employees.
The original cover of the original edition of "The Arms of Krupp" from the Substance library has faded, but the history is still worth pondering as Rahm Emanuel welcomes Krupp again to Chicago. Just because corporate "school reform" in the 21st Century has abolished a careful study of the histories of the 20th Century doesn't mean that working class people should ignore reality as much as Chicago's mayor insists we should.Each one of us serves as a role model for our students and it is through our conduct that we earn and maintain their trust and that of parents and communities. One of our most important responsibilities is to protect the district’s financial resources so we can invest as much as possible in our classrooms and provide every student in every community with a high quality education. We simply can’t achieve this mission without strong ethical values and internal financial controls.
A key component of these internal controls is our Code of Ethics. It is imperative that all employees understand and comply with this code, accessible http://policy.cps.k12.il.us/documents/503.1.pdf . The code and other important policies establish and define our financial obligation to the Board of Education and Chicago taxpayers to make certain every dollar we spend contributes to our efforts to improve education and boost student achievement, as well as to avoid all conflicts of interest in the use of district resources.
In the current economic climate, we are continually challenged to make tough choices about how we spend our revenue. That’s why we must make every effort to safeguard the use of our assets, including improving our internal controls, and closely monitor our spending in order to most effectively expend our precious dollars.
I want to stress that the Board of Education and CPS leadership team have zero tolerance for violations and blatant disregard of CPS policy. Therefore, any employee who violates Board policies may be subject to discipline, including suspension or dismissal.
If you suspect any violations of the Code of Ethics or other CPS policies, please contact the Office of the Inspector General at investigations@cps.edu . In addition, please report any suspected instances of fraud to the Fraud Hotline at 773-48 FRAUD (773-483-7283).
We look forward to updating you over the next few weeks and months as our CFO and finance team work to improve internal controls and systems.
Thanks in advance for your continued adherence of CPS policies and your commitment to the success of our students and school communities.
Sincerely, Jean-Claude Brizard, Chicago Public Schools | CEO
RAHM'S CUDDLING OF KRUPP-THYSSEN NOTICE BELOW HERE:
No one who has read William Manchester's massive historical study "The Arms of Krupp" could not have been jolted when reading Rahm Emanuel's announcement that Chicago and Krupp were going to be partnering. Of course, it's now "Thyssen Krupp," not the evil empire that helped finance Germany's Nazis, worked slave labor to death in its factories, and was put on trial at Nuremberg after World War II. Or it is? No sooner had Rahm announced the Cuddle with Krupp than the Sun-Times noted that locally Thyssen Krupp was doing racist stuff. Would anyone have been surprised?
The current cover of Williams Manchester's classic 1968 history tells the story of Krupp a bit more vividly (and accurately) for contemporary readers, and the book is widely available for those with an interest in the reality of history, as opposed to the nonsense.It gave some of us flashbacks. During the 1930s, all across capitalist America, the nation's largest corporations were happily and profitably doing business with the resurgent business empires growing across Germany. There was a slight lull in the trans-Atlantic profit chain, while my father (who served with the 44th Infantry Division in the ETO in 1944 and 1945) and millions of others had to interrupt their working class lives to defeat the Nazi Empire (along with millions from other countries, from Russia to France and England). For America's plutocrats, however, their main concern was the interruption of their profits. But they were soon back on the gravy train, as their licensing and other intellectual properties were back in business (and getting back pay) by the late 1940s.
This shady history, some of which we've brushed against in the past here at substancenews.net (check out our reporting on Reinhard Gehlan and Archbishop Valerin Trifa) is worth studying, while, of course, CPS working class students are too busy mastering a "Common Core" which deftly avoids serious history, and are being preached at constantly by the MBAs and Broad Fellows who are pushing the "Common Core" (along with some subsidized teachers). But in addition to the Rahm Emanuel press release praising Chicago's partnership with Thyssen Krupp, we need a bit of historical knowledge. Rahm should have had at least one person in his multi-million dollars press office to tell him to calm down with the corporate propaganda. Some corporations come to Chicago with too much 20th Century history to be praised too loudly — even when they are not using the "N" word in their corporate offices locally in the second decade of the 21st Century.
RAHM'S KRUPP PRESS RELEASE IS BELOW HERE:
MAYOR EMANUEL ANNOUNCES THYSSENKRUPP WILL OPEN NORTH AMERICAN HEADQUARTERS IN CHICAGO. German Technology and Materials Group to Open Headquarters Downtown in Summer 2012
CHICAGO - Mayor Emanuel announced today that the German technology and materials group ThyssenKrupp will open its Regional Headquarters for North America in Chicago in the summer of 2012. The new headquarters is expected to bring high–level jobs to the city and advance Chicago’s global leadership in the manufacturing and technology sectors.
“ThyssenKrupp’s decision to locate their North American headquarters in Chicago is a testament to the world-class business environment the city offers,” said Mayor Emanuel. “By combining transportation, infrastructure, and the best workforce in the world, Chicago is a destination for the greatest companies around the globe, and ThyssenKrupp is a perfect example of this.”
With annual sales of nearly $68 billion in fiscal year 2010/2011, ThyssenKrupp employs 180,000 in more than 80 countries around the world. ThyssenKrupp’s North America companies offer a range of products including premium carbon steel; automotive components; elevators, escalators, passenger boarding bridges; material trading, plant construction and industrial services.
In fiscal year 2010/2011, ThyssenKrupp North America subsidiaries employed approximately 24,600 and recorded sales of nearly $12 billion in North America. The company employs nearly 1,400 in Illinois.
“With a strong presence in 42 of the 50 U.S. states, as well as in Canada and Mexico, North America is our most important foreign market. The close proximity to key customers, including heavy equipment manufacturers in Illinois and major auto companies in Michigan; the world-class business schools and talented workforce– all these factors make Chicago the ideal home base for our continued strategic growth in the region,” said Torsten Gessner, Chairman and CEO for ThyssenKrupp North America. “I thank Mayor Emanuel and his team for welcoming ThyssenKrupp to Chicago. Both the Mayor and World Business Chicago made a very compelling case for a dynamic and vibrant world-class city we will be proud to call home.”
Since taking office in May 2011, Mayor Emanuel has made over 20 new jobs announcements for the City of Chicago, totaling more than 13,000 jobs. This is the first North American headquarters he has announced for an international firm.
ThyssenKrupp is currently looking to find office space in the downtown area prior to opening its offices in summer 2012. The company will be recruiting top talent as it expands the Regional Headquarters, and intends to hold a product show in Chicago in the fall to showcase products and services in North America.
ThyssenKrupp received no incentives in exchange for the creation of the North American headquarters or the jobs.
