Last Thursday the Illinois House accomplished a rare feat. They passed a bi-partisan bill that would create a publically elected Board of Education for the Chicago Public Schools. Yes, bi-partisan!! The vote was 110 - 4 in favor of such a move. Right now the 7 member board is hand picked by Mayor Emanuel.
The change would certainly be significant. The House passed bill would create a 21 person Board of Education with 20 different districts each selecting a board member while the 21st board seat would be that of President of the CPS Board of Education. The bill still has to get through the Illinois Senate.
The ramifications will be many but on the surface if the bill makes its way to the Governor's desk, and he signs it, the move will certainly be a blow to the Mayor. While I see this as a largely positive development I think there are some real drawbacks and I will explore these in the next couple of days.
Dick
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