Tag: Laurence Msall

CTU Deal Will Lead to School Closings & Layoffs

Four years of up-to-the-limit property tax increases for Chicago homeowners and businesses. Closing scores of under-enrolled and underperforming schools. Thousands of layoffs of teachers and other school staff. More cuts to the central office.

That’s what could await the Chicago Public Schools, thanks to the tentative agreement between teachers and the district that is expected to put an end to the five-day teachers strike.

Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said the 16 percent pay raise included in the tentative agreement will almost certainly trigger massive layoffs and scores of school closings.

via Chicago Sun-Times.

Well Duh!

This comes as a surprise to no one.  What did CTU think was going to happen when you have a broke and bankrupt system giving 16% raises to it’s staff?  You balance the budget by having less staff.

This is just like the minimum wage discussion:  If the minimum wage was $25/hour there would be fewer people working… not more.  And the price of your hamburger and groceries would be 20-50% higher.

When you artificially increase wages in the private sector you get inflation.  When you artificially increase wages in the public sector you get a bankrupt public sector.

CPS Director Accepted Gifts from Top Vendors

Now, [CPS Chief of Food Services Louise Esaian] and two members of her staff are accused in a report by CPS inspector general James Sullivan of accepting perhaps thousands of dollars in gifts from Chartwells and another vendor, Preferred Meals Systems, that have combined food contracts at CPS in excess of $75 million.

Esaian told the inspector general that the gifts didn’t influence her decisions at CPS, according to the report, which came out last week. But the appearance of conflict in such situations is inescapable, said Laurence Msall, president of the government watchdog Civic Federation.

“Even if it only affects the appearance of the procurement, it has a corrosive impact on the public’s trust and the perception of how government decisions are made,” Msall said. “These ethics codes exist because too often governmental officials are confused about what is in the public’s interest and what is in their private interests.”

The inspector general report does not make note of the expansion of Chartwells’ breakfast program. But at the same time the school board was considering, and ultimately approving, lucrative contract extensions for Chartwells and Preferred, the report says Esaian was being wined and dined at upscale Chicago restaurants, lavished with birthday gifts and NFL tickets for her friends and family.

via Chicago Tribune.

This is what happens when you hire politically connected people to run these programs.  They are not “called to service” or have any feelings whatsoever of acting in the best interests of the taxpayer.  They are all filled with a sense of entitlement that corrupts them into believing they some earned they things.