A Deal

There is a small part of me that sees that the GOP 'lifeline' offered to CPS the other day as something less than genuine. Remember the GOP leaders of the IL legislature want two votes, one on CPS declaring bankruptcy and the other creating an authority to take the place of the CPS Board of Education.

I raised the concern about the complexity of filing for bankruptcy. Even if CPS filed for bankruptcy they'd still have to honor their pension payments. The Civic Federation has even gone on record saying that bankruptcy should be a last resort.

But I have other concerns. Is the 'lifeline' suppose to force the Mayor to drop his desire for the state to provide over $400 million to the schools? I don't know. Or is it possible that the 'lifeline,' if it were to be accepted, a means for Governor Rauner to get some of his proposed reform. Again, I have no clue. Let's put it this way, there is a part of me that remains a bit cynical on this one.

I think the GOP might have made better headway on offering a 'lifeline' where they didn't seek to have the district go into bankruptcy or get rid of the current Board of Education. In the past, the district, during a period of financial stress, had an appointed financial authority group to help solve the financial crisis. Why not let Governor Rauner and Mayor Emanual select experts to serve on a Chicago School Financial Authority agency. This group would have the authority to examine appropriate bond issues, budgets and the like. Seems reasonable to me.

Dick