As Chicago’s schools struggle with de facto bankruptcy and our police department reform slows to a crawl, it’s important to remember that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has never been accused of being an ideological man. Throughout his career he has focused on obtaining and consolidating power, rather than the application of power for the purpose of ideological achievement.

This isn’t to say Mayor Emanuel lacks political values, because judging from his record, he clearly adheres to general progressive principles such as promoting public welfare programs and using government to improve lives. But leaders guided by ideology use their core beliefs to guide decision-making. Over time, their decisions illustrate their ideology.

Now that Emanuel is midway through his second term, he’s had enough time to settle into a mode of thinking, so I’d like to suggest three examples that illustrate his focus on power, rather than ideology.

#1 – Emanuel’s Dealings With DOJ On Police Reform

The first is the most recent: Last Friday’s end-of-the-workweek announcement that the Emanuel Administration would be shucking its promise to seek a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice for police reform. Instead, we’re told Chicago will seek an “agreement” with DOJ to install an independent monitor with no enforcement power.

While the agreement reportedly (called so because it has not been released to the public) provides the DOJ with the power to force changes at CPD, it is a ridiculous assertion, since the DOJ official who would oversee the agreement, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Wheeler, one of the authors of North Carolina’s “bathroom bill”, seems to have little interest in minority communities.

Emanuel’s team has justified their decision to seek a contractual agreement with DOJ by saying it would be just as good as a court-enforced consent decree, and DOJ wouldn’t sign off on a consent decree anyway. Yet, another city that eschewed an consent decree for an agreement like Cincinnati, which former CPD deputy chief Charles Ramsey cited as an example Chicago should follow, include other enforcement mechanisms that give community groups legal powers to make police department changes during the reform process.

Looked at in isolation, it’s a head-scratcher of a political move on Emanuel’s part. Chicago’s black community, which can make or break a mayoral reelection campaign, is demanding police reform, and black leaders I’ve spoken to say Emanuel totally lacks credibility on the issue. Rather than hand over authority to a court-appointed monitor with enforcement power, Emanuel is proposing a system where he maintains all control, so that only he is able to affect change. And so far, change has been coming slowly.

#2 – Emanuel And The Elected School Board Debate

The second example is Emanuel’s record on an elected school board. Two versions of the concept have each passed the Illinois House and Illinois Senate. The concept is perilously (for Emanuel) close to becoming reality. Although Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he opposes an elected school board, the idea of snatching power away from the mayor of Chicago could be a mightily attractive idea to many downstate Republicans. Enough votes could be rustled just to tweak Emanuel’s nose, under the right circumstances.

Yet Emanuel has had minimal public engagement with supporters of an elected school board, even to just hear them out. A more constructive approach would be for him to recognize that many Chicagoans believe the existing mayor-appointed school board is flawed, and use that to shape a solution more to his liking.

But he hasn’t done that. Instead he’s resisted giving up any power. So he’s getting boxed in by a growing political movement that just might actually take from him all school control, leaving him with crumbs.

#3 – Emanuel And The Teachers Union

Finally, there’s Emanuel’s relationship with the Chicago Teacher’s Union: It has been needlessly antagonistic. One could argue that Emanuel and CTU occupied opposing camps, starting with the 2012 teachers strike, fueled by the 2013 school closings, and solidified by last year’s contract negotiations. But now that’s in the rearview mirror. So, what stands between them when both are fighting for the same end–stable funding for education.

CTU says it won’t take Emanuel seriously until he identifies $500 million more in annual city revenues to fund schools. Considering CPS has had a roughly $1 billion annual operating deficit for the past three years, this is not as crazy a number as it sounds. But instead of engaging with CTU and its union allies to find creative solutions in Chicago and the state legislature, Emanuel and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool have shut out CTU, choosing instead to go it alone.

Why is a power struggle even necessary here? Isn’t the art of politics about co-opting and compromise?

Unlike years past, where tax receipts flowed from a horn of plenty and Democratic allies controlled state government, Chicago is now under pressure from multiple angles. What’s called for in these circumstances are finesse and coalition building. It also means sharing power with new allies, in order to win successes.

While the state’s major political leaders engage in a Game of Thrones-style face-off as the budget crisis deepens, Chicago’s most troubling financial problems–from pensions to keeping school doors open–are festering. This week on The Aldercast, publisher Mike Fourcher sits down with four political hands familiar with Chicago’s unique problems and the political forces behind Springfield’s seemingly intractable budget standoff to find out why.

• Ryan McLaughlin of Mac Strategies, who advises multiple Republican candidates and conservative organizations


• Joanna Klonsky of Joanna Klonsky Communication Strategies, who provides media consulting on progressive issues in the state and city


• Victor Reyes, the co-founder of lobbying firms Reyes Kurson and The Roosevelt Group, and former director of Intergovernmental Affairs for Mayor Richard M. Daley


• John Dunn, Partner at McGuire Woods Consulting, where he lobbies on state and city issues, also former director of Intergovernmental Affairs for former Mayor Richard M. Daley

The group explains what role Mayor Rahm Emanuel could play in breaking the logjam, why so much of the state’s political future seems like it’s built on billionaires, and predictions for just how high the price of 2018 elections will be.

Our thanks to our friends WGN Radio for allowing us to use their studios. Got comments, questions, or suggestions? Please send us an email: [email protected].

Updated: June 15, 2017

Since May 2015, the start of the current term of the City Council, aldermen have supported more than $92 million in property tax breaks for 60 development projects that qualify under Cook County’s property tax incentive program. Armed with six different property tax break programs, the City of Chicago has attempted to cajole and encourage commercial and manufacturing businesses to stay or relocate within the city boundaries, gathering promises to create around 7,100 new jobs and keep nearly 3,600 jobs from moving out of Chicago in return for a reduced tax bill. In a little over two years, the program has invested about $8,700 per promised job.

To better outline the prevalence of these tax breaks, The Daily Line assembled two years of data gathered through press releases and city ordinances. Most of it is boilerplate and provides limited, glossy detail. The finer points are provided in committee meetings through powerpoint presentations, or during the rare question and answer period between aldermen and DPD staff.  But those project briefs are not publicly accessible.

While the incentives pass through the City Council, the program is managed by Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios. All applications are filed with the Assessor and reviewed by the local municipality. And yet, the Assessor’s Office only provides its data through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests sent by mail.

Soon, due to a rule change some of the most common tax breaks located in certain industrial corridors, Class 6b, will bypass the City Council. DPD will handle the local review and submit the recommendation to the County. That means some of the data The Daily Line relied on to compile this report–legislation records and corresponding mayoral press announcements–will be held by city administrators and likely only provided by FOIA request, as with most city information.

Commissioners made quick work of Board business Wednesday, flying through committee agendas without debate in time for the Finance Committee to kick off only 20 minutes behind schedule, and for the business of the full board to wrap by 12:30 p.m. The day’s only sticking points were discussions of the county’s finances–spurred in part by the impending beverage tax, one commissioner said.

Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski (D-16) had a series of pointed questions for officials from the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) and the Sheriff’s office. He said he expected there to be more attention to the county’s budget as customers begin noticing the county’s beverage tax, which goes into effect July 1.

If Chicago wants to address high unemployment rates among African-American men and youth, the private sector, sister agencies, and the county need to pitch in; that’s the takeaway aldermen were left with following a nearly three hour subject matter hearing Wednesday hosted by the Council’s Workforce Committee on addressing this longstanding problem, borne out of decades of disinvestment in predominantly Black communities.

Cook County Board members meet at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday: Suburban commissioners will consider a new PACE Board member, the son of veteran County Commissioner Al Carr; a number of health related legal settlements topping $700,000, and refer a ban on drones above county jails, hospitals, and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) to committee. After the day’s proceedings, President Toni Preckwinkle “will address potential impacts on Cook County that would result from the proposed Trump budget.” Links to those ordinances are next to the meeting times. 

Technology Committee Chairman John Fritchey (D-12) called on tech officials from the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Sheriff’s Offices Tuesday to get to the bottom of why the two were falling behind on scheduled upgrades. The Clerk’s office–which is frequently criticized for its slow-moving, paper based process–blamed low staffing, legacy system problems, and a gap in communication with the Sheriff’s Office for a seven month delay.

For the third time this year, the Council’s Workforce Committee is scheduled to hold a subject matter hearing Wednesday on concerningly high unemployment rates among African American men and youth. No proposed code changes or funding plans for how the City Council could address this issue prompted today’s or the other two meetings held on this subject last month, just resolutions.

 



A Chicago Police Department official who heads CPD’s Community Relations Division told the Council’s Public Safety Committee that she was “not qualified to answer” an inquiry from an alderman on the status of the community oversight function planned as part of the city’s overall police reform efforts.

Tuesday will be a relatively routine day at the Cook County Board, as commissioners receive briefings on technology upgrades, consider 31 no-cash bid sale requests, and discuss pending litigation against the county (likely in executive session). Commissioners will kick off the day honoring wounded and ill armed services veterans on “Silver Star Service Banner Day” during the consent calendar meeting.

A federal grant program that helps cities combat violent gangs and curb illegal guns will be the subject of Tuesday’s Public Safety Committee meeting.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce sent letters to the members of the Cook County Board and Board President Toni Preckwinkle Friday afternoon calling for a pause on implementation of both the county’s paid sick leave and sweetened beverage tax until January 1, describing implementation of the former as “piecemeal” and the latter “a mess”. The Preckwinkle administration says it has no intention of doing so.

I don't think Team Emanuel has a plan for getting Chicago Public Schools on its feet. Call it a hunch, because I don’t have anyone on the record to say that’s the case. But we have watched two years of hemming and hawing from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his administration about funding CPS operations, and not much has changed in that time.

Last May we learned that the district would only have $24 million on hand at the end of their fiscal year, June 30, and that the schools would start their year with a $1.1 billion deficit. The solution involved a series of cuts, including to classroom services, some borrowing, and some money from the state. But then the state backed out of part of its funding package, due to a veto from Gov. Bruce Rauner, so CPS borrowed more money and made more cuts.

And still, CPS didn’t address its structural deficit problem, which after 2017’s cuts, is well over $500 million, maybe closer to $1 billion, analysts tell me. CPS also hasn’t come up with a solution to pay down its significant debt, which this month will rise to $8.1 billion. That’s more than 50% larger than the district’s $5.4 billion annual budget.

If you’re a Daily Line regular, you’ve read all of this before. I’m sorry for subjecting you to a repeat. But the details are just so mind blowing, it’s worth a reminder. (Also, another plug to our recent podcast episode: The CPS Funding Saga. It’s essentially an audio history of the rhetoric on CPS by the administration over the past three years and the confusion it has created among aldermen who are essentially kept in the dark.)

As Chicago’s schools lurched through its budget crisis, we’ve heard three solutions from Team Emanuel: borrow, make incremental cuts, and hope Springfield will give us some money.

The close of Springfield’s Spring Session without a budget deal (for the third year in a row!) should make it pretty clear: We’re not going to see anything from the state anytime soon. And then, Gov. Bruce Rauner really put the nail in the coffin Thursday when he told the Sun-Times he wouldn’t support and education funding bill that included $300 million for CPS. “The amendment on there really amounts to an unfair-to-Illinois-taxpayers bailout of CPS,” he said.

We know now: Rauner is committed to his plan of freezing property taxes, and other aspects of his Turnaround Agenda, and he’ll hold the budget hostage until he gets it or is voted out of office. As a result, we may not see a state budget or state money for CPS until after the November 2018 elections.

So what’s Team Emanuel’s solution?

Except for a promise to start school on time next September, we don’t know. Last week, before the Spring Session ended, Emanuel told reporters, “If you think in the final seven days I’m going to tell Springfield everything I’m going to do while they’re negotiating an education budget, you’ve got to get yourself another negotiator. That’d be the dumbest thing you can do.”

But now session's over, and we still don’t have a solution.

Back in April, aldermen who saw the writing on the wall–that the city is going to have to raise taxes and then make payments to CPS to keep it going–but were rebuffed by Team Emanuel for a briefing, started coming up with their own funding solutions. Some of the solutions, like a head tax and raiding unused Tax Increment Financing funds have majority support in Council. But unless Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke (14) calls a vote (which he won’t without the mayor’s say-so) the ideas will never see daylight.

Then last week, members of the Progressive Caucus filed an order demanding outgoing Budget Director Alex Holt, CFO Carole Brown, and Treasurer Kurt Summers open up the books and show how much the city has in its TIF, Rainy Day, and investment holdings.

Not a peep from Team Emanuel in response.

When I spoke to Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey last month, he said he can’t take Mayor Emanuel seriously until he “commit[s] to raising half a billion dollars for the schools,” through local tax increases. The idea seemed shocking and radical to me at the time, but now, just a month later, I’m beginning to think it’s maybe the only solution available.

 



Aldermen on the city's Committee on Health and Environmental Protection lightly questioned officials from the Department of Fleet and Facility Management (2FM) and ComEd executives on Smart Meters and cybersecurity Thursday, pushing a hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency so late in the day that only three aldermen remained.

In 2016, fifteen aldermen on the City Council received income from an outside job, two aldermen had a family member contracted by the city, and one alderman owned eleven pieces of property. That information was revealed this week as aldermen rushed to file their annual financial interest statements with the city. All were required to submit the responses to the Board of Ethics by May 31.