It's okay Rahm. You can come out now.

Much of the credit for Foxx victory belongs here. 2 Down, Rahm to go.

Will the mayor come out of hiding now that pal Hillary Clinton has left town?

She succeeded in avoiding Rahm long enough to narrowly squeak by Bernie Sanders with just 50.4% in her home state. It was a race she was picked to win by double digits and surely would have lost, at least the popular vote, if the race had gone another week or so.

With the Illinois victory, Clinton secures 68 delegates and Sanders pockets 64 delegates. Not too shabby, Bernie. Credit should also go to groups like Chicago Votes who have made it easier to register, even on election day. More credit, at least in my mind, goes to the anti-Trump protests at UIC last week, which more than any campaigning, generated a sense of urgency and passion for political struggle in thousands of young folks.

Of course, the popular vote doesn't mean as much in this state, since, win or lose, Hillary controls the 29 big-shot elected officials ("super delegates") who automatically get convention seats. In that sense the game was rigged from the start.

But congrats to Bernie and his team of Chicago progressives for running an amazingly close race and engaging thousands of new voters in what otherwise would have been a dull race. The movement for social justice comes out the better for it.

Voter turnout in Chicago was over 50%, according to the Chicago Election Board, and 26,000 new voters, mostly young registered to vote on Primary Day.

The biggest win yesterday belonged to Kim Foxx who rode to victory over police-murder cover-up artist Anita Alvarez, on the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement. Two down, Rahm to go.

Proud of Harish I Patel and Jay Travis for fighting the good fight. Progressive first-time candidate Patel was not only battling political boss Dick Mell's machine dirty tricks, he also was abandoned by unions who decided to play it safe and throw in with the machine's Jaime Andrade. I hope they hold Andrade's feet to the fire.

The unions split on Travis, with AFSCME and SEIU throwing [our] money behind pension thief and school privatization (Stand For Children) incumbent Christian Mitchell. The CTU backed Jay.

Glad Andrea Zopp got clobbered. Voters remembered her role on the school board in support of Rahm's school closings in the black community and her role in the Byrd-Bennett/SUPES corruption scandal.

Theresa Mah & Chuy Garcia

Congrats to Juliana Stratton. Bye-bye to Rauner's puppy-dog Ken Dunkin. You knew he was toast when Obama pointed a finger at him and said, "We'll talk later."

Congrats to Theresa Mah for beating the machine in the 2nd Dist. State Rep race.

Congrats to Omar Oquino for beating the machine in the 2nd Dist. State Senate race.

And did you see? Sue Sadlowski Garza whipped Pope/Rahm in the Ward Committeeman race. This despite massive vote fraud (ballot box stuffing) by Pope's machine goons.

Kudos to Aaron Goldstein for kicking machine boss Mell in the ass in the committeeman race. I've been waiting 40 years for somebody to do it.

When I went to bed last night, Goldstein was ahead of Mell by 143 votes with 2 precincts left. But I'm not celebrating yet. Aaron better keep close eye on the ballot box. Remember Deb Mell was down by 26 votes to Tim Meegan last Feb's aldermanic election and then beat him by somehow "finding" enough Mell absentee votes.

The Machine does its best work after the polls close.

Now the struggle moves back to the streets, April First (no foolin') when CTU teachers hit the bricks in a citywide, one-day strike action.

Big turnout in Chicago will be good for progressives.

Sanders supporters packed the Auditorium Theater last night. 

Despite inclement weather, it looks like a big voter turnout today in ChiTown. I hope so. Big turnout can only help progressives like Sanders, Foxx, Travis, Patel, Stratton, and others. A tightening race between Bernie and Hillary should also drive turnout and more down-ticket votes.

Early voting has been high and the excitement generated by last Friday's huge anti-Trump protest at UIC will likely drive new and younger voters to the campaigns and to the polls today.

The Tribune reports that early voting in Chicago surpassed 130,000 by Sunday night. That's about 37% more than the previous high for a primary, the 81,690 votes cast before Election Day in 2008, when Obama and Clinton were running against each other. Biggest increases are reported in both black and Latino wards. Only five of 50 Chicago wards have had lower early voting turnouts this year than in 2008. More on those wards later.

Last night's massive turnout at the Bernie Sanders rally while Hillary Clinton's rally was half filled, bodes well for the progressives. Whoever gets the most votes, if the race is close, Sanders will come out the winner.

Two names not on the ballot will also have a major impact today's races, Rahm Emanuel and Laquan McDonald. Rahm, because in the wake of the the McDonald killing/cover-up, the Byrd-Bennet affair, and his closing of 50 schools, mainly in the black community, he's become politically toxic, the turd in the Democratic Party's swimming pool. Neither Bill nor Hillary will get near him, even though he's an early Hillary endorser who owes his political career and wealth largely to the Clintons.

Rep. Ken Dunkin is running his Rauner-financed TV ads targeting Rahm and not even mentioning his opponent, Juliana Stratton. Smart? Maybe. But I don't think it will work. Everyone knows Dunkin is a tool of the governor whose hate-ability rating is right up there with Rahm's. Plus, Pres. Obama has openly endorsed Stratton. Bye bye Dunkin.

As for Laquan McDonald, the very mention of his name sends chills down the spines of the mayor and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. Check out today's Ward Room column by Carol Marin and Don Mosely. 

On South Stony Island Monday morning some signs reading “I love Laquan” and “Fire Anita” were seen being hauled away by a city Streets and Sanitation crew while other political signs were left standing. 

The shooting of the 17-year-old by a Chicago police officer in 2014 has in large part defined the race for Cook County State’s Attorney. It is also playing out in the Democratic presidential primary where the mere mention of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s name drew loud boos at Bernie Sanders’ Friday rally.

Jay Travis: Yesterday was a good day

Jay Travis is the progressive hope, running for State Rep in the 26th Dist. against corporate reformer and pension grabber, Christian Mitchell.

JT reports from Springfield:

House Bill 557, calling for an elected representative school board for the people of Chicago, was passed out of committee by a vote of 15-9. That same morning, Chicago public school students, parents, community residents and teachers staged 'walk-ins' at more than a hundred neighborhood schools across the city to bring critical attention to the need to invest public dollars in our neighborhood schools instead of giveaways to wealthy, politically connected elites.

More on Mitchell...Chicago Reporter's Curtis Black, writes:

Indeed, Mitchell has been one of the top recipients of funds both statewide and nationally from Stand For Children, a group brought to Illinois by Rauner in an effort to undercut union influence and bargaining rights; it’s backed by a bevy of billionaires including Republican Ken Griffin.

But particularly on education policy, Mitchell does seem to have aligned himself with Rauner. ­(He’s also aligned on school policy with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose campaign committee gave Mitchell $28,000 last year.) This is a political vulnerability for him: Schools are a flash point, especially on the South Side, and especially under Emanuel. On the state and local level, in terms of the neoliberal agenda of privatization and union busting, school policy is where the rubber meets the road.

In Bronzeville, parents have felt under siege as they’ve watched school after school close, many to be replaced by charter schools, said Jitu Brown, national director of Journey for Justice and a longtime colleague of Travis’s. Mitchell provided no support for parents in his district fighting school closings, Brown said, or undergoing a hunger strike to save Dyett High School.

Mitchell refused to support a moratorium on school closings; opposed an elected school board (reversing himself after Travis declared her candidacy); and opposed a bill allowing parents to opt their children out of high-stakes tests. He’s backed charter schools down the line, repeatedly opposing efforts to give local voters final say in approving new charters and even opposing a measure requiring charters to follow federal regulations protecting special education and English learning students.

What more do you need to know?

Despite federal investigation, the battle rages on in post-election Chicago

KOCO Executive Director Jawanza Malone responds to latest attacks.  (Jeffrey Bishku-Ayku)

“Peace: A period of cheating between two periods of fighting.” -- Ambrose Bierce. 

Please excuse all the military metaphors, but it's war out here on the third coast folks.

Those of you who were hoping the post-election Little Emperor would turn back into sweater-wearing Mr. Rogers -- think again. Even while a full-scale federal investigation of pay-to-play at CPS is going on and with Barbara Byrd-Bennett on the lam, the spoils of war are being spread around to Rahm's loyalists with impunity, while the guillotine is being greased up for the progressive opposition.

First on Rahm's agenda is consolidating power in the City Council by handing out key committee positions to toadies like Will Burns. But that won't be so easy given the victories by all seven members of the Progressive Caucus who ran for re-election and the stunning upset victories by progressives over Rahm-back incumbents out in the wards.

Victorious Sue Garza & Chuy

We're all celebrating yesterday's announced victories of Sue Sadlowski Garza over Petcoke Pope in the 10th and Milly Santiago over Rahm's deputy mayor and yes-man Ray Suarez in the 31st.

S-T's Mark Brown calls Garza, "tough as steel rivets". He's right.

Pope will also have to be replaced on Rahm's Infrastructure Trust. I doubt that he will appoint Garza. Don't you? But the Progressive Caucus will be all the stronger for her presence.

Now comes word that the day after the election, the CPS Office of Innovation and Incubation received at least 50 charter school proposals. This despite BBB's promises not to allow any charter schools to open in school buildings shuttered in 2013.

KOCO leader Jitu Brown leading the fight for Dyett

As for the guillotine, they're hoping to use it on the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO)  the group leading much of the resistance to south-side school closings and taking it right to Ald. Burns in the battle to save and transform Dyett High School. The attack on KOCO is being led by Rep. Christian Mitchell, who despite being bankrolled by the machine and pro-privatization groups like Stand For Children and backed by powerhouse County Board Pres. Toni Preckwinkle, barely squeaked by KOCO leader and community activist Jay Travis. But taking on KOCO won't be so easy. Community support for the organization is strong and building.

Did I mention that Travis and newly-elected Ald. Carlos Rosa will be on our panel at Saturday's NPE Conference? And KOCO leader Jitu Brown is among the keynote speakers. Should be exciting.

Some good news on the charter front. The House just passed a bill by a 60-40 vote, that would strip away power from the State Charter School Commission. That's especially good news for those inner-ring, mostly-black and Latino suburban districts who have become the target of charter school expansionism. Charter profiteers are banking on the Commission to overrule local districts who vote against them.

Of course the bill must first get through the Senate and then be signed by Rauner. Not likely. So enough votes must be garnered to override his veto. But it's something.

Door cracks open to stripping Rahm of mayoral control of the schools. Travis' near win reverberates.

DID YOU HEAR THAT... The House opened the door ever so slightly Tuesday to stripping Mayor Rahm Emanuel and any of his successors of the sole authority to appoint the Chicago public school system's board of education.  By a 108-5 margin, the House approved legislation sponsored by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, to create a task force to study whether the board should be appointed, elected or mixed. Ford’s bill now moves to the Senate.

... Some legislators are nervous about voting for Rahm's pension-busting bill because of Jay Travis' CTU-backed near defeat of Christian Mitchell. This according to Chicago Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney who was interviewed by Carol Marin on Chicago Tonight. I confirmed it with McKinney on Twitter.

Mike Klonsky ‏@mikeklonsky 

@davemckinney123 Did u tell Carol M that legislators were worried by CTU-backed near defeat of Christian Mitchell? Or did I hear you wrong?

 Dave McKinney ‏@davemckinney123 

@mikeklonsky I had one House Dem suggest that was a factor giving some heartburn today given where the CTU was on the bill.

Thanks again Jay and CTU for fighting the good fight. It continues to reverberate.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

SAY JAY!...Travis concedes but the coalition that came close to electing her, meets and agrees to continue working together for honest and accountable elected leadership.

Jay Travis

"I could not be more proud of our campaign. I am writing to let you know that I am officially conceding... I look forward to continuing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in our fight to grow the economy for everyone, to strengthen our neighborhood schools and to govern them democratically, and to ensure that all families can live, work, and retire with dignity and peace. We have only just begun."  -- March 28th Statement

Diane Ravitch

 “They loved mayoral control when it was Mayor Bloomberg, but now it’s a progressive mayor, and they’re gutting it.” -- New York Times

S. Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley 

“It’s not something we want to see happen,” she told The Greenville News.“ We discourage any companies that have unions from wanting to come to South Carolina because we don’t want to taint the water.”… You’ve heard me say many times I wear heels. It’s not for a fashion statement,” she continued. “It’s because we’re kicking them [unions] every day, and we’ll continue to kick them.” -- The Becoming Radical

Gary Orfield, co-director of UCLA’s Civil Rights Project

“The children who most depend on the public schools for any chance in life are concentrated in schools struggling with all the dimensions of family and neighborhood poverty and isolation.” -- Crooks & Liars: Segregation Is Alive And Well In The Cities

Guzzardi -- “The whole city is watching what we did here. This election didn’t happen in a vacuum.”

In These Times photo

A POWERFUL MOVEMENT IN CHICAGO... Dan Mihalopoulos gets it (sorta) in this morning's Sun-Times ("Victories few for Preckwinkle on Election Night") about Toni backing machine candidates on Tuesday. A while back I was chanting "Run, Toni, Run." I didn't mean run into the arms of Rahm/Madigan.

Mihalopoulos writes:

Still, you can’t help but contrast the gloom felt Tuesday night by many of Preckwinkle’s friends with the soaring rhetoric about Chicago’s “progressive movement” at the Guzzardi victory party in Logan Square. “The whole city is watching what we did here,” Guzzardi told supporters. “This election didn’t happen in a vacuum.”

According to the triumphant political neophyte, he’s part of “a powerful movement in Chicago.” Guzzardi has lived in Chicago just five years but referenced an event that occurred here long before he was born: The 1983 election of Mayor Harold Washington. Guzzardi claimed his win was another milestone for a movement that once elected Washington.

In his campaign and in the speech, the 26-year-old Guzzardi laid out the key issues he believes are motivating the movement these days: 

Improving traditional public schools, as opposed to opening new charter schools. Preserving pensions for public employees. Changing a tax structure in which “the very wealthy and the biggest corporations ought to be held accountable to pay their fair share, just like the rest of us.”

BATTLE'S NOT OVER...While we on the north side are still celebrating (and I am) Will's monumental victory, let's not forget that our brothers and sisters on the south side are still fighting. Jay Travis is within a few hundred votes of Christian Mitchell and is refusing to concede until "every vote is properly counted." Of course, as we know from our own experience on Tuesday, they haven't been. And shame on Preckwinkle for calling Travis's claims of poll irregularities "delusional."

DNAinfo

From the very beginning,  Will's campaign and that of Jay Travis should have been essentially linked, targeting the same corrupt political machine. In the course of fighting and often winning these school and election battles, our eyes remain on the prize. We are building an independent, labor-led, community-based movement that can hopefully challenge Rahm Emanuel next year and help redefine politics in this city.

The Travis campaign is facing much tougher odds right now, including obscene amounts of money flowing into Mitchell's coffers from groups like Stand For Children, DFER, and even from California billionaire school privateer Eli Broad. For Travis to be this close to victory is testimony to the power of her message, her organization and her base of support in the community.

Thanks to my FB friend Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle for posting the following:

Little piece of research I just did, fascinating to see that Mitchell's entire base of support comes from the white areas of his district, pretty telling about our political system that the corporate-backed candidate can win a seat in state assembly by depending pretty much exclusively on the whitest areas of his district: Analyze where Mitchell's "victory" came from. He was CRUSHED in predominately black areas, in fact in most areas. His entire victory came from the 42nd ward which is 70% white, the 2nd ward which is 78% white, and the 43rd ward, which is over 80% white. Meanwhile, he lost in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th and 20th. 

Last year we waged an important battle against the school closings and won important victories here on the north side. But in the city's predominantly black communities, 50 schools were closed, leaving thousands of families' lives in turmoil and their neighborhoods further blighted.

Let's not let the politics of divide-and-rule undo what we've been able to accomplish. To my way of thinking, the battle in the 26th is over when Jay Travis says it's over.

Jay Travis: 'It would be an injustice to concede before every vote is properly counted'

I just spoke with Jay Travis who was on her way out of the Board of Elections. She's there today asking for a full accounting of every vote taken in the 26th District. As of now she is said to be trailing the incumbent Christian Mitchell by only a few hundred votes.

Says Jay,

 Many were not given a proper ballot in over 15 precincts. In many precincts, including mine, voters were improperly turned away and told to come back later. We're at the Board of Elections to make sure that every vote is properly recorded and that this election reflects the actual will of the people. This campaign was clear example of a coalition that includes working families and labor organizations, youth, seniors and people seeking change as opposed to the influence of corporate interests.

We have fought a good fight and it would be an injustice to concede before every vote is counted. 

Hang in there, Jay.

Guzzardi wins in a rout

-- M. Klonsky photo

State House - District 39 - Dem Primary

March 18, 2014 - 11:04PM CT

Illinois - 91 of 91 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name Votes Vote %

Guzzardi, Will 5,245 61%

Berrios, Toni (i) 3,402 39%

All you had to do was walk into the Logan Square Auditorium on Kedzie last night and take a look around to see why Will Guzzardi won big. The room was packed, not only with a diverse, raucous crowd of celebratory election night supporters, but also with a cadre of skilled campaigners, strategists, media, supporting politicians and field organizers young and old, who knew how to win an election and did.

-- M.Klonsky photo

In the end, despite the usual last-minute polling place shenanigans,  it wasn't even close. Toni Berrios conceded early, a little after 9 p.m. In an election that was watched closely statewide and even nationally, Guzzardi won in a 22-point rout over the machine's ncumbent, Berrios, the daughter of Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe"Big Daddy" Berrios. Her confused and floundering campaign was taken over mid-stream by machine Boss Michael Madigan's professional election thugs who made Toni take a "vow of silence" and then threw every bit of smut and garbage they could muster at Will, but couldn't make it stick.

DNAInfo reported:

 But some voters said Berrios' advertising blitz worked against her, especially when it came to attack ads. "To see what Toni Berrios [is saying], it really makes me sick to my stomach, so that makes me come out and vote just because of how yucky politics is," said Logan Square resident Amanda Fitzgerald.

-- M.Klonsky photo

Guzzardi gave a rousing victory speech calling on supporters to keep the movement alive or "my victory will have been in vain."

"We said with one voice that every child deserves access to a great public education," Guzzardi told the crowd. "We said with one voice that the very wealthy and the biggest corporations ought to be held accountable to paying their fair share just like the rest of us. And we said with one voice that working people who have earned their retirement deserve to get it, right?"  

WGN is calling it a "victory for the unions," especially for the CTU which backed Guzzardi with money and field organizers. Chicago Party regulars, including Rahm Emanuel, are now worried that Guzzardi's successful campaign could mark the beginnings of an independent political movement capable of a new round of election victories. They are right to worry, especially with the mayor's race coming up next year. One of those capable of taking on Rahm is Ald. Bob Fioretti who backed Guzzardi and who, along with several other progressive pols, including Senator Willie Delgado, Aldermen Arena, Waguespack and Moreno, were celebrating with the crowd in the auditorium.

CONGRATULATIONS... to Jay Travis who ran a strong campaign in the 26th against great odds in her attempt to unseat incumbent Christian Mitchell. All the experts predicted this race wouldn't even be close, with Mitchell getting tons of money from school privatizing groups like Stand For Children and DFER as well as a last-minute gift from California billionaire power philanthropist Eli Broad.

But by midnight last night, with the press reporting a win for Mitchell, the race is so close that Jay isn't giving in. She says:

I am not conceding. Throughout Election Day, we constantly received reports of voter suppression and intimidation, judges tampering with ballots, wrong ballots, ballots missing my name, and illegal electioneering. I personally was turned away from the polls at 6 a.m. due to alleged problems with the voting machine, along with a group of elderly senior citizens who had been waiting in line to vote (I returned over an hour later and was able to cast my ballot at that time).

We have received these kinds of reports from precincts across at least five different wards in the 26th District. This scale is significant in a race separated by just several hundred votes. We will be at the Board of Elections with our attorney tomorrow. In the meantime, I want to thank those of you who did incredible work in the streets today and packed our Election Night party tonight. You inspire me to continue fighting for a more just and democratic world.

Win or lose, Jay Travis should be proud of the campaign she waged. This is only the beginning for her. Her race, taken together with Guzzardi's victory in the 39th, shows the way forward.

Early (but not too early) and Often

Jay Travis and friends.

When progressive 26th Dist. Rep. candidate Jay Travis went to her polling place to vote at 6 a.m. this morning, she and dozens of others, including lots of seniors, were turned away due to alleged "voting machine" problems and told to "come back later". Travis has mounted a fiercely competitive challenge against machine-backed Christian Mitchell.

Mitchell was supposed to win this one easy with a war chest full of money from corporate "reform" groups like Stand For Children and DFER. But Travis, a long-time community organizer, has organized a strong field operation and is showing much stronger than expected.

Arne & Eli

BROAD MONEY...The machine boys are now running scared, which might account for the polling place irregularities. It also might account for a last-minute $10,000 contribution to Mitchell's war chest from none other than California b-b-billionaire Eli Broad. Why would Broad be so interested in a local Chicago election? The former real estate tycoon and Wall Street (AIG) kingpin is in the market for pols willing to support his public school takeover and privatization strategy. And Mitchell is an eager taker.

This isn't the first sighting of Broad money working to influence Chicago school policy. Broad bankrolled the invasion of the Supes Academy here last year and CPS CEO Byrd-Bennett along with her predecessor J.C. Brizard are alums of Broad's Superintendents Academy. Broad is the subject of a  state investigation in California for his secret million-dollar donation to the right-wing, anti-public school, anti-union group, Americans for Job Security.

But as I pointed out back in 2010, Broad money comes "not just with strings, but ropes."

Yesterday's influx of cash to a nervous Mitchell campaign also came from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co.PAC, Illinois Energy Association, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce PAC, and Ald. Joe Moreno, who just wants to be on the side that's winning it seems.

Here's hoping they just pissed away good money after Broad bad.

AMES VICTORY PARTY...This from Bridget Murphy of the Logan Square Neighbors Assoc. (LSNA)

After the polls close Ames referendum volunteers will gather at Weegees Lounge, 3659 W Armitage Ave, for a victory party. Come join in 7:30pm and after, as precinct captains bring in their tape showing a landslide victory for the SAVE AMES from becoming a military school referendum campaign! We are grateful for local businesses Weegees, Revolution Brewing, and Pixel Graphics for donating to Save Ames.  Contact: Maria Trejo 312-927-2207 or Leticia Barrera 773-727-9941

Murphy's Law...Rahm's joke...DFER's $$$

A good question
Georgia parent asks Pres. Obama, "Why don’t private schools adopt your test-based school reforms?" -- Washington Post

Murphy's Law
Jim Broadway, who publishes Illinois School News Service, has a good post on voucher supporter, Matt Murphy's (R-Palatine) bill SB 3533, that would supposedly "give public school students a choice of who will teach them - a teacher in their local schools or a "provider" in a remote location, even in another state." The bill, which is not likely to pass, is backed by ALEC.

Jim refers to my blog when describing ALEC. Thanks Jim.

 You've read my views about ALEC before. Here's how Mike Klonsky, one of my favorite bloggers, sees ALEC: 

"The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) represents the most reactionary, anti-people, anti-teacher, racist sector of the corporate establishment.... They are strongly anti-union and have pushed legislation nationally to dis-empower teacher unions and take away collective bargaining rights of all public employees."

[Okay, if you clicked the link on Klonsky's name you might have read the thrashing Mike gave to Sen. Kirk Dillard, whom we have endorsed for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Mike makes good points, but we'll stick with Kirk.]

When Jim says "we have endorsed", I think that's the Royal We, not any organization. I understand Jim.

DFER union busters headed for Chicago
Crain's reports, the privatizers are coming in with a big wad of bills ($1 million+) to try knock out the  few progressives on the City Council and anyone else critical of charter school expansion.

The organization had been all but moribund since it was formed in 2011, but suddenly has kicked its fund-raising into high gear, pulling in $60,000 in the past two weeks, including donations from industrialist Jim Crown and his wife Paula Crown, Jennifer Steans from the politically active Steans clan, and the Texas-based Arnold Foundation.

Jay Travis

DFER is also bankrolling Christian Mitchell's campaign against progressive Jay Travis in the 26th Dist. Rep race. Mitchell has already taken money from the corporate "reform" group, Stand For Children.

You can stand up to these creeps by casting an early vote for Jay if you reside in the district and sending a check even if you don't.

Check your watch, deBlasio.

Rahm's joke?
At Axelrod's conference at the U of C, L.A.'s Garcetti, getting in a plug for his city's mild weather, joked that he touched Chicago's snow — which he said hurt — and wasn't sure what it was.

"It's water," Emanuel deadpanned in a reference to California's drought. "We'll sell it to you at a big price." 

Garcetti goes, "he he" but knowing Rahm, whose famous line is, "Never let a serious crisis go to waste", he must have been wondering, was that a joke?

"So if Christian didn’t like the pension bill, then why did he vote for it?"

In this morning's mail... Jay Travis asks a great question of her opponent, incumbent 26th Dist. Rep. Christian Mitchell. He's quoted in the Sun-Times as saying he “didn’t like Senate Bill 1”—that is, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bill that slashed the retirement security of elderly teachers, social workers, and other state employees. Asks Travis: "So if Christian didn’t like the bill, then why did he vote for it?"

Answer: Mitchell is bought and paid for with big dollars from the union-busting group Stand For Children. In other words, he's one of those reformed progressives or sellouts, as we used to call them BITD.

According to the Trib's IL CampaignCash Tweet site, Mitchell recently received $56,683.53 in just 6 contributions. Here's the list. elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclo…

The Trib's Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah reports that despite promises made by Chicago schools chief Byrd-Bennett that closed schools wouldn't be turned over to charters, there are moves afoot to turn shuttered Pope Elementary School over to Legacy charter. Valerie Leonard, who sits on that council and is a co-founder of the Lawndale Alliance, was quick to rally residents against Legacy's proposal.

"It flies in the face of the promise CPS made," Leonard said. "They promised when those buildings would close they would not be turned over to charters. But before we can even get a repurposing policy in place by CPS, there's a proposal before us for a charter school."

A SmallTalk Salute... goes out to Philly high school senior Faheem Williams, 18, for speaking out about the desperate conditions facing his school, legendary Overbrook High School. Faheem is in a close race for class valedictorian with only a few months left before graduation. He's also an excellent defensive back on the school football team (I've watched his videos).

PhillyTrib reports:

The teen said the learning environment has changed in the four years since he was a freshman. In that time, the school district has lost millions in education funding, which contributed to serious debt and resulted in widespread layoffs and severe cutbacks in programs and services. Students, parents and community activists say funding cuts have translated into huge loss of educational opportunities for their children.

The school district shuttered 24 schools in 2013, forcing the reshuffling of more than 9,000 students. 

Calif. pension battle brewing. Sounds eerily familiar.

UC service workers, members of AFSCME Local 3299,  picket at UC Irvine Medical Center. The union has scheduled a five-day walkout starting March 3. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times). 

IN L.A. THIS WEEK… The weather's different, but the education issues sound pretty much the same here in Cali as they do in the IL tundra. The proposed so-called "pension reform" sounds eerily familiar. Like IL, the state has failed to meet it's payment obligations. Schools, for their part, are wary of paying more for pensions after suffering budget cuts during the recession.

It's a revenue crisis, not a pension crisis but "reform" always seems to mean placing the burden squarely on the backs of the retirees and sparing the wealthiest and the corporations any new tax increases.

The L.A. Times reports:

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders are pledging to repair and replenish the $181.1-billion retirement system that is supposed to finance more than 800,000 retirements for public school teachers, administrators and community college instructors. The second-largest public pension fund in the country, after California's primary pension system for public employees, it faces a $71-billion shortfall that worsens by $22 million every day, according to pension officials.

But the question is "repair and replenish" how?

Teachers do not receive Social Security, and the average retiree last year left his or her job at age 62 with a monthly pension of $3,980 after working 25 years. In the fiscal year that ended in June, payments into the pension fund were far short of what's needed to keep the system healthy, according to state reports.

The Legislature and governor must approve any increases in contribution rates, but negotiations will be fraught with political peril, especially in an election year.

Cali, like IL is heading for a showdown as corporate reformers try and break the public employee unions.

After following the 2-day faculty strike on the part of my former colleagues at UIC, I see that out here on the Left Coast, it's the UC's 21,000 AFSCME service workers and patient care employees who are carrying the ball. They are planning a five-day strike starting March 3 -- which would be their third and longest walkout in less than a year.

BACK HOME, IT'S JAY TRAVIS…asking who is Christian Mitchell?  Early voting begins on Monday, March 3, just over a week away, and we still don’t know the truth about Christian Mitchell.

Mitchell says that he’s a progressive who cares about working families. But he shares the same donor base as billionaire Republican Bruce Rauner… Christian has also received over $50,000 from Stand for Children, a special interest group funded in Illinois primarily by Lester Crown's family (as well as John Arnold, the Texas-based former Enron executive and notorious anti-pension activist).  

NEXT THURSDAY… February 27th, Women for Fioretti are hosting a breakfast at The Cliff Dwellers Club, featuring Guest Speaker Chicago Teachers' Union President Karen Lewis.

The view from L.A.

The way schooling is supposed to be-- I'm out on the Left Coast. taking a few days off from Chicago tundra, watching a school field trip to Leo Carrillo State Park.

I'm in L.A. but still envious (no, really) of those who got to join the UIC picket lines or march yesterday  in Springfield in defense of public employee pensions. This show of strength, especially in anticipation of upcoming state and local elections, is bound to have some effect.

Now the question is, can this positive motion produce the kind of unity and organization needed to put a hurt on Rahm, Rauner, Madigan and their gang? I don't think the progressive movement really has a horse in the governor's race, but we should be able to use the growing rifts in the enemy's camp to our advantage.

Locally, the Will Guzzardi (39th) and Jay Travis (26th) state rep races are strategically key. The machine, including Boss Madigan's thugs, have jumped into the Guzzardi/Berrios race with both boots as Guzzardi's poll numbers continue to grow. Madigan's people are apparently taking  messaging and propaganda duties away from Toni Berrios' own incompetents. As a result the panicky Berrios campaign is headed straight for the gutter.

This from Gapers Block:

Maybe the memory of a close margin explains the recent outflux of advertisements from the 2014 Berrios campaign that range from the sensational to the horrific. "Will Guzzardi doesn't want you to know where sexual predators are hiding" declares one 8-by-10 inch card in red letters above a man's face emerging from the dark. "Sexual predators could be living near the park where our children play," Berrios's message continues on the back, "...and Will Guzzardi doesn't think we should know."

My feeling is that Berrios' gutter politics will backfire and Will will be able to pull it out.

DEBTORS PRISON?…The Illinois unemployment rate is now among the nation's highest and even worse than midwest neighbors Ohio and Michigan. Wow! And as public employees have their standard of living reduced, pensions threatened,  and face mounting debt and trouble paying their bills, feudal lord Rahm puts the squeeze on them to pay up quickly or risk suspensions or firings. He's even using increased teacher debt as a reason to undermine the CTU contract. What's next, debtors' prison?

FACULTY POWER...The two-day UIC faculty strike appears to have had a major impact. Hundreds of classes were cancelled as tenured and non-tenured teachers and profs flexed their collective muscle. Hopefully this show of strength will force the administration to negotiate a fair contract with decent pay for university workers and empowerment of faculty over curricular and other decisions that affect teacher/learning and student well-being.

According to the Ward Room:

Instead of simply being about who gets paid what and when, the school’s first-ever strike is as much about what kind of an institution UIC is and will be, and whether or not educators are in the business of adding value to students or adding value to a university’s bottom line. 

Writing in Jacobin Magazine, however, two UIC English professors, Lennard Davis and Walter Benn Michaels, make the case that UIC faculty are also committed to educating working-class students and say the strike is also about whether or not they’re able to fulfill that mission

UIC STRIKE, DAY 2. BUSES ROLL TO SPRINGFIELD

Hundreds of classes at the University of Illinois at Chicago were canceled Tuesday as part of the first faculty walkout in the school's history.

While faculty march outside UIC, busloads of teachers, cops, firefighters and other public employees are on their way from Chicago to the state capital this morning to confront legislators over their unconstitutional attack on our pensions.  The mass protest is being organized by the We Are One Coalition.

Real Deal...
I told you Jay Travis was the real deal. Running for State Rep in the 26th, she not just a good talker but will be in Springfield today rallying with thousands of teachers and other public sector workers.

The rally in Springfield comes on the heels of a Chicago Teachers Union report showing that public pensions generate tens of millions of dollars in economic activity across the city, and especially in some of the South Side zip codes that have been hit hardest by the recession, including in parts of the Illinois 26th District. Despite the vital importance of public sector jobs to the families of the 26th District, incumbent Representative Christian Mitchell voted last spring for Senate Bill 1, which slashed the retirement security of state-employed retirees and workers. Jay, who is challenging Representative Mitchell in the March 18 Democratic primary, is the only candidate in the race who supports efforts to overturn SB1.

Rauner/Duncan Soul mates...

Brother Fred takes note of the fact that billionaire, union-basher, public-space destroyer, Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner, talks to Arne Duncan "all the time." Don't miss his hilarious post. 

Steans

I deserve some kind of medal for successfully wading through Steans Family heiress Robin's interminable and vapid defense of Common Core testing madness. Steans somehow got the job of leading the corporate "reform" group, Advance Illinois, and was an architect of SB7. I suppose Catalyst has to print this crap or risk having their funding cut. But once you get the gist of it, you can skip down to the comments section where Valerie Leonard and others pose some good questions.

DE BLASIO LEADING THE WAY ON INCOME GAP AND SCHOOL INEQUALITY

Mayor de Blasio delivers his first State of the City Address. Offers "a future of greater equality and opportunity,” 

N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio isn't folding his post-election cards as many predicted, despite stiff opposition from Gov. Cuomo's gang up in Albany and even some attacks from some lefties on his plan for universal pre-K.

AP reports:

By virtue of a campaign focused on income disparity, de Blasio has become a leading spokesman in the global movement to address fiscal inequality but in order to enact some of his signature ideas, he must first get approval in a city 150 miles to the north. Albany lawmakers must sign off on de Blasio's hopes to raise the minimum wage for city residents and for the centerpiece of his agenda: a tax hike on the rich to fund universal pre-kindergarten.

B-BYE... New York's charter hustlers are borrowing a page from from their corporate uncles by threatening to leave town if BdB goes through with his plans to make parasitic privately-run charters pay rent in public school buildings and enforce tighter restrictions on how they operate. I hope the mayor calls their bluff.

De Blasio's administration has already revised it's education budget, reportedly pulling $210 million away from the charter hustlers and directing it to expanding preschool programs. He's even placed a moratorium on new charter school co-locations.

In his State of the City Address yesterday, the Mayor said New York would become the largest municipality to offer identification cards to residents regardless of their legal status, making it easier for undocumented immigrants to open bank accounts, lease apartments or borrow library books.

Jay Travis

AFSCME BACKS TRAVIS… Community organizer and Chicago Bronzeville neighborhood native Jay Travis on Monday announced a key campaign endorsement by AFSCME Council 31 (my union) in her Democratic primary race against State Rep. Christian Mitchell. Mitchell is being targeted by organized labor for defeat after taking money from Stand For Children union-busters and for  voting for pension-robbing SB1 legislation.

In addition to AFSCME, Jay has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Citizen Action Illinois.

On Friday, Travis reported $22,000 in campaign contributions from labor unions, including $10,000 from AFSCME; $5,000 from the CTU; $5,000 from the North Suburban Teachers Union COPE; and $2,000 from LCFT – COPE Local 504, IFT-AFTAF CIO.

'Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors'
I'm humming that old Charley Rich tune this morning as I'm reading the DNAinfo account of Rahm Emanuel's secret meeting with Chicago south side pastors. Probably should have been watching re-runs of Let's Make a Deal, at the same time. I wonder what it will take to head off any real opposition from an African-American opposition candidate (Toni Preckwinkle) as 2015 approaches?

Whatever the cost, Rahm can easily afford it. His campaign coffers have been swelled by big donations from city real-estate developers to the point where he has amassed a $6.2 million campaign fund more than a year before a February 2015 election in which there is no announced opponent. John Kupper, the mayor's political adviser, explained why Emanuel takes big campaign checks from developers.

"First, these are legal contributions," Kupper wrote in an email. "Second, the mayor does not take anything for granted relative to his election campaigns."

Toussaint Losier

A SMALLTALK SALUTE... 
This one goes out to Chicago housing activist Toussaint Losier who is out of jail this morning, after being arrested yesterday afternoon at PNC Bank on 87th and Cottage Grove. Toussaint was arrested without charges after being assaulted by a bank security guard during a petition delivery on the behalf of a homeowner currently fighting to keep her home.

****** 

Special thanks to Dr. Shelly Davis-Jones, Supt. of Dist. 149 (Dolton/Calumet City) and author of, Filling the Seat: The Pathway to the Superintendency for one African American Woman, for speaking in my class last night.

Jay Travis is the real deal [Updated]

At Travis fundraiser last night. 

I got to meet 26th Dist Rep. candidate Jay Travis at a campaign fundraiser for her last night. I came away thinking, she's the real deal. She previously worked as the executive director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), which has been in the forefront of the battle to save public education in Chicago, and as a program officer for the Woods Fund. She's solid in her defense of retirees pensions and was outspoken in opposition to school closings and to SB1 and the great pension heist going on in Springfield and Chicago. She also supports an elected school board in Chicago. Travis is supported by the Chicago Teachers Union and Citizen Action Illinois among others.

Travis volunteers.

The CTU's Brandon Johnson has promised that union members "will be knocking on doors, making phone calls and raising cash" to help Travis win. Good. She will need that kind of support to win.

She's got a tough road ahead. She's up against an incumbent who won last time with lots of dirty money from the the likes of school privatizers and union-busters DFER and Stand for Children. Machine Democrat Christian Mitchell, figures to have four or five times the money as Travis, in his war chest.

We need to change that.