Sections:

Article

SUBSCRIPT: From 'Rahm the Ruthless' through 'Rahm the Reluctant' to 'Rahm the Irrelevant'?... Rahm reiterates silly talking points as Chicago schools open and strike looms... City Hall provides a complete 'news' story and photo to make sure reporters get the story straight

If Rahm Emanuel were to take on a name from another culture (which in his ambitiousness is always possible if it gets him a wedge moment in the daily news cycle), as the regular school year opened in Chicago his name might be "Rahm Running From Reporters".

The mayoral press statement on the opening day of the 2012 - 2013 school year in Chicago repeated all the talking points that Rahm had used during his teacher bashing and union busting rookie year as mayor, but instead of taking questions about the schools from reporters, Rahm hid behind a phalanx of press flacks and ducked out as police blocked reporters following him.Rahm Running From Reporters would be the new name — as in his performance on the opening day of school for the 2012- 2013 school year showed. By September 4, 2012, Chicago's mediagenic mayor was mimicking his appointed schools chief, "Chief Executive Officer" Jean-Claude Brizard. For a year, Brizard, the highest paid schools chief in Chicago history, had been hiding behind the petticoats, so to speak, of his press secretaries, assistant press secretaries, flacks, sub-flacks, and spinsters. Not one press conference. Not one unstaged question. From June 2011 through August 2012, Brizard never spoke except under Rahm's watchful eye, hidden from scrutiny except in carefully scripted "Tele Town Hall" adventures, radio call-in shows where every critical call was screened, and overstaged public appearances under the watchful eye of Rahm and a dozen handlers. That was Brizard's first full year in office. As the second school year of the administration of the two men began in September 2012, the mayor ducked in behind his overpaid and undercompetent schools chief. From one point of view, the first day of Track R schools in September 2012 was as if nothing had changed. Publicity stunts. One year after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel opened the 2011 - 2012 school year with a teacher bashing and union busting repetition of talking points at the West Side STEM elementary school (one of the 13 so-called "pioneer" schools that voluntarily took on the Longer School Day before it was stopped as an Unfair Labor Practice by the CTU), his talking points were virtually unchanged.

Longer School Day...

LONGER School Day...

LONGER SCHOOL DAY!

LONGER SCHOOL DAY!!!!

The mayor's mantra had been stuck in silly for more than a dozen months. It was as if his Hollywood scripters had failed to tell him that he had messed up, the real world wasn't going to yield to his stagings and flunkies and millions of propaganda dollars the way his staff could under his steely glint.

On September 4, 2012, the Mayor's Press Office issued the following:

For Immediate Release

September 4, 2012 CONTACT:

Mayor’s Press Office

312.744.3334

press@cityofchicago.org

Statement from Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the First Day of Chicago Public Schools

“Today marks a new beginning for Chicago Public Schools students. On the first day of school, Chicago’s students now have a full school day and a full school year that measures up to their full potential. Through hard work and cooperation, we have finally put an end to saddling our children with the shortest school day and shortest school year of any major city in the nation; we have put an end to shortchanging Chicago’s students. Now, Chicago Public Schools students will have a 7-hour day in elementary school and a 7 ½-hour day in high school. Our students will enjoy a full year, moving from 170 days to a full 180 days. We are introducing more rigorous academic standards to prepare students for tougher new state tests in 2014; five new STEM-schools that will focus on the areas of science, technology, engineering and math; and we are creating 5,000 new kindergarten slots. And now parents are able to see their school’s report cards online. By putting the interests of our children first, teachers will no longer have to choose between reading and recess, algebra and athletics, science and social studies. On the first day of school, our students’ futures have come first.”

The difference between 2012 and 2011, however, is that Chicago's mayor is hiding from the press and public as his lies and bullying (called out on Labor Day by CTU President Karen Lewis) become exposed to the world.

After ordering security to stop reporters from asking him questions, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel provided the press with a complete story and picture so that the story was straight on the opening day of Chicago schools on September 4, 2012. Above, the photo of Rahm distributed by the Mayor's Press Office to all the press on September 4, 2012 shows Rahm at the "Goode STEM Academy" talking to the only class of four students in Chicago Public Schools while a teacher watches in silence (and not wearing red, which has been a challenge for Rahm). Substance photo by Rahm Emanuel.Rahm and the leaders of CPS may have stopped reporters from covering the story, but the Mayor's Press Office dutifully supplied the story much as the Communist government of Romania used to provide the public with the latest stories of the Ceausescu family's antics before Christmas 1989, and that unfortunate culmination to all that. Below is the version of reality Rahm circulated to the press (it even came with two photographs so that a lazy reporter blocked by Rahm's team could get in a story anyway):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 4, 2012

CONTACT:

Mayor’s Press Office

312.744.3334

press@cityofchicago.org

Mayor Emanuel, CPS Leaders Join Students, Parents, Teachers and Principals Across the City to Celebrate the Start of the Full School Day for All of Chicago’s Students

Mayor and CPS Leaders Visit Over 20 Schools In Neighborhoods Across the City

CHICAGO – Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) leaders today joined students, parents, teachers and principals at over twenty schools in neighborhoods across the city to celebrate the start of the full school day for all of Chicago’s students.

“Today marks a new beginning for Chicago Public Schools students. Our students now have a full school day and a full school year that measures up to their full potential. No longer are they saddled with the shortest school day and shortest school year of any major city in the country in the country,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Through hard work and cooperation and by putting the interests of our children first, teachers will no longer have to choose between reading and recess, algebra and athletics, science and social studies. On the first day of school, our students’ futures have come first.”

Now, Chicago Public Schools students will have a 7-hour day in elementary school and a 7 ½-hour day in high school. CPS students will have a full year, moving from 170 days to a full 180 days. More rigorous academic standards are being introduced to prepare students for tougher new state tests in 2014; five new STEM-schools opened today that will focus on the areas of science, technology, engineering and math; and 5,000 new kindergarten slots are being created in the coming school year to give our children a running start. Additionally, parents are able to see their school’s report cards right on the CPS website at www.cps.edu.

This morning, Mayor Emanuel visited three schools: Shields Middle School in Brighton Park, Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy in Ashburn, one of the five new early college STEM High Schools, and UNO Charter Officer Donald J. Marquez campus, also in Brighton Park, where he shared with students the importance of what has been achieved for their peers across CPS schools.

CPS leaders visited twenty-one schools across the city, including:

Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy

Kennedy High School

Hamilton Elementary

Simpson Academy High School for Young Women

North Grand High School

Ross Elementary

Carter Elementary

Drake Elementary

Roberto Clemente Community High School

Chopin Elementary

Sabin Magnet Elementary

Senn High School

Bateman Elementary School

Lakeview High School

Gunsaulus Elementary

Kellogg Elementary

Roosevelt High School

Chicago Vocational Career Academy High School

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Elementary School

LaSalle Language Academy

Galileo Elementary

Photo Caption: Mayor Emanuel Talks with Students on the first day of school at the new Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy

Photo Credit: Brooke Collins // City of Chicago

# # #

This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail (or the person responsible for delivering this document to the intended recipient), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, printing or copying of this e-mail, and any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please respond to the individual sending the message, and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and printout thereof.

1 Attached Images



Comments:

September 8, 2012 at 2:01 AM

By: John Kugler

Rahm's violence coverup and spin now at CPD

So let's see here. School is in session, police are on staff and yet there is a shooting and stabbing at a school event.

This is Normal

High school sporting events: One person was stabbed after a fight broke out at Gately Stadium Friday, halting the Simeon-Morgan Park football game, and eye witnesses and a police source said shots were possibly fired.

Loud noises and flashes of light could be seen coming from the Morgan Park stands, according to a Sun-Times reporter who was at the game at 800 E. 103rd. A police source told the Sun-Times a large fight broke out at the game and said officers responded to reports of shots fired.

But the Chicago Police Office of News Affairs said police officials do not believe gunshots were fired.

So a reporter sees flashes and hears noises, but since nothing was found, nothing actually happened. Maybe the Department is hoping the reporter doesn't know what a revolver or an automatic looks like? And at least one thing did happen:

A spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department said a male was stabbed and taken to Roseland Community Hospital about 8:43 p.m. The age and condition of the male was not immediately known.

Pay no attention to the crime occurring right before your eyes. The Great McOz — Garry McCarthy — has spoken!

http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/2012/09/this-is-normal.html

September 8, 2012 at 7:46 AM

By: Bob Busch

Rocket attack at Gatley

Simeon was one of the first CPS schools to use films in their football games. Al Scott was a great coach and his film crew never missed a play.

I know I was one of them. Once I caught a flash in my viewfinder in the opposite

stands then the whole press box lit up with a flash and a loud boom went off

just above our heads. I caught the second and third sky rockets as they came right at us,both went high and exploded over the parking lot at Gatley.

Add your own comment (all fields are necessary)

Substance readers:

You must give your first name and last name under "Name" when you post a comment at substancenews.net. We are not operating a blog and do not allow anonymous or pseudonymous comments. Our readers deserve to know who is commenting, just as they deserve to know the source of our news reports and analysis.

Please respect this, and also provide us with an accurate e-mail address.

Thank you,

The Editors of Substance

Your Name

Your Email

What's your comment about?

Your Comment

Please answer this to prove you're not a robot:

5 + 3 =