Chicago's 49th Ward people reject Alderman Joe Moore's attempt to foist another charter school on the ward...
[Editor's Note: Most of those who've been following Chicago politics remember how Alderman Joe Moore, once known as a "progressive", double crossed the City Council's progressives back in the early days of the Progressive Caucus by stalling the time for submitting for a city-wide referendum on the elected school board. But that was 2011, and this is 2015. Nobody believes Joe Moore is a "progressive" in any sane version of the term any longer, and Moore's own voters are rising up against his latest scheme -- a plan to foist another charter school on the ward, this time another "campus" of the "Noble Street" charters. Below is an update on the massive opposition in the ward to Moore's latest... George N. Schmidt, Editor, Substance].
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Update On The Charter Invasion of Rogers Park
There's just a ton of things going on in Rogers Park relative to this Noble Street charter proposal, most of which I'm not going to write about tonight.
Suffice it to say groups are coming together; there's a ton of opposition, and the more I look into it, the more I see how this process is stacked against distressed communities.
But first, a funny thing. Part of the charter proposal process involves the charter operators getting the supported of the elected people in the community, including the state representative, state senator, and the alderman.
It's weird that out of all these people, the alderman has the absolute least to do with the governance of the public schools, and yet there they are, glommed onto the process like suckerfish. The charter operators know this, and that's why they try to recruit the aldermen before anyone else.
That's why, for example, Alderman Joe Moore has already been approached by Noble Street and has visited one of their campuses. To Noble Street's credit, they aren't giving away trips to Turkey like CMSA's political operation did with the him. And which he accepted and enjoyed.
I can tell you this much. The way the news works 99% of the people in the community haven't even heard that a charter is attempting to insert itself. Therefore, they aren't calling in to the alderman to register disapproval. So, in the alderman's eyes, the community is fine with it.
That's how UNO got here in Rogers Park.
But with this Noble Street charter, there's been a revolt. In fact, a funny thing happened inside the 49th Ward Democratic Party: the steering committee of that august body voted overwhelmingly to oppose the charter. Behold their proclamation:
It's my understanding that the alderman had to leave the meeting before the vote came up and was therefore unable to take a public position. As the kids say, whatever. I'm not a member of the 49th Ward Democratic Party, but I'm sure it's not unprecedented for them to disagree with the alderman. I just think it's important to note that when people have information about charter proposals before the fact, they feel free to chime in and register an opinion.
Long story short, the political ground has shifted a bit in Rogers Park, and I'll be able to write more about it later.
Meanwhile, I've talked to group after group after group, and I can't name a single organization that has a positive reaction to yet another charter school in this area. The alderman is pretty much alone on this issue, and that seems right to me, because he answers to the mayor on these questions, not the voters.
Meanwhile, crocodile, people in the ward need to start calling his office and leaving polite messages. It's pretty simple. You call his office (773-338-5796) and leave a polite message about your position on yet another charter in Rogers Park, and you possibly ask if the alderman will take a public position against it. And if you're really in a jolly mood, you'll ask that he call you back.
But you don't have to do that last part. The last thing you need is a bunch of bullshit on the phone. Of course, I'm more cynical than most people.
It's an easy call. Do it, 49th Ward.
Meanwhile, the Baby Wranglers are totally on the case. Here's their No-To-Noble Facebook Page. And here's their petition. Don't mess with the Baby Wranglers.
Hey, none of this matters if you don't make the call to Joe. 773-338-5796.
And if you want to get involved, get in touch. We've got a ton going on; there's something for you to do, I'm sure. You can email me on the right side of this blog. There's a thingy for it. You'll find it.
Much more later.
Oh yeah, the process. Look, this is a community with a lot of knowledgeable, activist-type people. We're all connected, we all have opinions, we have transportation, access to social media, we've got network upon network of established organizations. Armed with a little knowledge, a community like this can come together and put up a fight. I can imagine how much harder this is in the more distressed communities where more people are focused on survival.
That's what makes me uneasy about all of this. The board has us battling each other again, in effect, because of the terrible public policy around charter schools. Everything about it is set up to divide communities and to divide people within communities, and to pile up chits in the accounts of a few politically connected insiders in what amounts to the new patronage system.
By: Mary Nicolay
49th ward proposed charter school
I totally oppose any other charter school in the 4th ward. Bad for public education, our kids, b parents and teachers! -privatization of education is horrible idea!!