Chicago and Cook County News

After three months of fierce protest from the Chicago Teachers Union, community groups, and affected parents and teachers, the Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved Wednesday night to close, phase out, or turnaround 17 academically struggling Chicago public schools.

At the Board of Ed. meeting, activists repeated their contention that CPS targets a disproportionate number of schools whose student populations are made up of predominantly low-income black and Latino students.

The Board of Education vote came after a City Council meeting Tuesday where Black Caucus aldermen expressed confusion and concern over the actions, a candlelight vigil Monday that went to Rahm Emanuel’s home in Lakeview, and a sit-in of Piccolo Elementary School over the weekend.

The issue of school closings and turnarounds is not over: a group of LSC members have, with the assistance of CTU, filed a lawsuit to undo the closings. Community activists can already claim one victory. Crane High School on the Near West Side will close, but CPS agreed to launch a new neighborhood Crane High for the 2013-14 school year.

The new Crane will focus on health sciences – much like the new campus for Malcolm X Community College that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday.

PI reported Thursday that Illinois State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago) wants to improve student performance at Chicago Public Schools by offering merit pay to elected Local School Council members.

Emanuel issued a challenge this week to 2010 U.S. Census figures. Emanuel’s challenge is a modest one, claiming that the Census undercounted Chicago by 2,350 people. But if it is successful, the federal government will give the city as much as $2.8 million more each year.

Emanuel and Midwest Generation, owner of the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants on the city’s Southwest Side, have given themselves a February 29 deadline to negotiate a settlement over the plants, according to Ald. Danny Solis (25th) at a City Hall press conference Tuesday.

We looked Tuesday at a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Housing Action Illinois that delivered the grim news that there are simply not enough rental homes available to extremely low-income households in Illinois. Housing advocates say that this needs to change in order to prevent increased homelessness in the state.

Cook County, Illinois, and national foreclosure rates all spiked in January, according to data released last week by RealtyTrac.

PI looked at a 100-strong demonstration by Chicago community groups at a Wal-mart Express in the West Loop last week. The protest was a response to alleged wage theft and mass firings of Wal-Mart warehouse contractors.

The large Cook County non-profit, Community Economic Development Association, is the target of a federal criminal probe concerning shoddy home weatherization work, the Tribune reported Thursday.

The U.S. Justice Department indicted Cook County Commissioner William Beavers Thursday for not paying taxes. The veteran Chicago pol has not exactly responded to the indictment with contrition.

State News

The big state news this week was Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2013: Quinn proposed closing 63 state facilities Wednesday, which will result in 2,397 layoffs if passed by the legislature. PI reported on Quinn’s address to the General Assembly, which also included a lot of tough talk – but few concrete ideas – on pensions and Medicaid cuts.

The continued hemorrhaging of Illinois government jobs even as the economy recovers is part of a national trend, according to a report released this week by the Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government in New York.

We looked at a group of about 50 protestors who gathered outside the State of Illinois building Tuesday afternoon to deliver a new fiscal policy report to the governor’s office, calling on Quinn to close three corporate tax loopholes.

Besides calls to close tax loopholes, there is little talk in the state to deal with the budget morass via another tax increase. In fact, the Illinois House passed a bill Tuesday that will explicitly prevent local government bodies -- like schools, cities, and counties -- from increasing property taxes in any year when housing values have dropped, unless voters approve a tax increase by referendum.

PI looked Monday at two very different reports on corruption in Illinois. One by the University of Illinois Chicago claims that no place is more corrupt than Chicago's city hall. Another by the collaborative group, State Integrity Investigation, finds Illinois to have a surprisingly decent level of accountability and openness.

National News

We looked Friday at the race between Tammy Duckworth and Raja Krishnamoorthi in the 8th Congressional district. The race has focused of late on the candidate’s views on campaign finance, and perspectives on how best to improve the economy. Both Duckworth and Krishnamoorthi claim to disdain super PACs, but cannot seem to mutually agree on how to reject support from such groups.

Also this week, Emanuel endorsed Duckworth in the race.

We reported Wednesday on a surface transportation bill written by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives that would cut funding for Illinois, calling for drastic reductions in mass transit allocations and the elimination of popular and effective bike and pedestrian safety programs.

There is much opposition to the legislation: The Regional Transportation Authority approved hundreds of thousands to spend in lobbying against it.

There were indications by Thursday that these efforts have paid dividends.  U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner may walk back the Republican bill and return key mass transit funding.

We looked Friday on how the Obama administration budget might impact Great Lakes environmental funding. The budget does include $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). However, the proposal would continue to cut the overall Environmental Protection Agency budget.

A poll released Wednesday by We Asked America found that incumbent Jesse Jackson Jr. enjoys a 21 percentage point lead in the 2nd congressional district race against former 11th district congresswoman Debbie Halvorson.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley have been named co-chairmen of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

President Barack Obama will return to Chicago for some fundraising next month. The President is set to come to Chicago just four days before the March 20 primary elections.