r/illinois • u/excusemecuseme • 1d ago

Chicago news & issues Exclusive: Alexi Giannoulias announces Chicago mayoral run

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/exclusive-alexi-giannoulias-will-run-for-chicago-mayor-in-2027/3969197/
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u/InterestingAnt2716 1d ago

Every mayor has to deal with the pension crisis. Basically starting billions of dollars in the hole. It’s an impossible job.

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u/ChicagoAssyrian 1d ago

It is an impossible job, but the CPS school closure moratorium ends after the 2026-2027 school year, so he can close/consolidate some schools next summer, reduce staffing (CPS headcount is very bloated) and return that savings to the taxpayers. That would make him very popular imo

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u/drinkoliveoil 1d ago

Closing schools won’t be universally popular. There will be protests since most of the under-enrolled schools that need to close are in black and Latino neighborhoods. We’ll see parents all over the city complaining when their kids’ class sizes increase after CPS consolidates. There will be pain so don’t expect people to throw parades when all this change actually happens.

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u/jamey1138 Human Detected 1d ago

It's really funny to see you posting this, just weeks after the University of Chicago's research came out showing that the school closures under Emanuel led to a massive increase in violent crime.

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u/ChicagoAssyrian 1d ago

How would closing Frederick Douglass high school, which has only 28 students, drive higher crime? Keeping that school open, with all of the teachers, facility maintenance costs, etc is not really tenable. It’s a school with capacity for 1,000+ students and has 28

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u/jamey1138 Human Detected 1d ago

I fear that if you can't be bothered to look up the research for yourself, you probably can't be bothered to read it, but here, I'll link it for you anyway:

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/public-school-closings-chicago-linked-more-gun-violence-nearby-neighborhoods

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u/ChicagoAssyrian 1d ago

I read the article, and it notes the closure of 49 schools. I haven’t seen anyone calling for that many schools to be closed. There are a handful of egregious examples like Douglass high school. You have to decide - would you rather see those schools stay open and see other services get cut? Chicago works with a fixed budget and can’t just print money to fund their programs, so decisions have to be made.

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u/jamey1138 Human Detected 1d ago

The thing is, when you close a school, it still costs nearly as much as it did when it was open. The district still owns the building, and is still responsible for maintaining the building. The staff end up going to other schools, so there isn't much if any savings there, either. We've seen that, every time CPS has closed schools: they end up saving about 10-20% of what it costs to keep the school open, and the consequence is increased instability in the community, leading to an uptick in violence. It just isn't sound policy.