Illinois’s Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel are said to be friends. It is not impossible to imagine that two scorpions could coexist in a bottle—unless the bottle was Illinois politics. Better keep your distance.
Governor Rauner and Republican state legislative leaders have announced a plan to let the state take control of Chicago’s public schools, generally recognized as a case study in academic and fiscal failure. If approved, the plan would bring in an independent authority that would replace the Chicago Board of Education, run the school district, and potentially declare the district in bankruptcy.
A spokesman for Mr. Emanuel, a purported schools reformer, instantly said the mayor was “100% opposed” to the plan. Democrats in Springfield are also screaming, but shock at the Governor’s proposal can hardly be the reason. The state, as permitted by law, has routinely taken over financially failing school systems in Illinois. Chicago, which was under state control from 1980 to 1995, got itself exempted from that law. But now the wolf is back at the door.
The Chicago Public Schools needs a bailout—which would come from the state—to cover a $480 million gap this year, and Mayor Emanuel is out of options. In January, Standard & Poor’s further downgraded the Chicago School District’s debt, which is already rated as junk. “The board’s lack of progress in addressing its structural imbalance further weakens its credit quality,” S&P credit analyst Jennifer Boyd said in a statement.
This is the same sorrowful spectacle Chicago’s school system put on last year. When it failed to get a state bailout for a looming pension payment in 2015, it borrowed some $600 million. Now, unable to pay back what it already owes, the system last week did a $725 million bond sale at an 8.5% interest rate, a large premium over what other borrowers can pay. Mr. Emanuel blames Mr. Rauner’s bankruptcy talk for the premium.
Governor Rauner says he’s willing to consider a state rescue, but that Mayor Emanuel will need to sign on to plans to reform the system, which is shorthand for standing up to the teachers unions. That requires political capital, an asset Mr. Emanuel lacks due to the continuing fallout over the video of Chicago police shooting 17-year old Laquan McDonald. The Chicago Teachers Union also still holds a grudge over its battle with him during its 2012 strike, though the union received most of what it sought.
The reality is that nothing will change without forceful political leadership. The ever-beleaguered Chicago system, the nation’s third largest, was placed under state “emergency” control in 1980 after banks refused to let the system borrow more money. It remained under state control until 1995, when Democratic Mayor Richard Daley regained control. The system’s finances, especially its pension obligations, rolled back down the mountain. The teachers union has been along for the whole ride.
We remember when Mr. Emanuel was considered an education reformer, and no doubt he still is in principle. What Governor Rauner has proposed is a way to stop the eternal downward spiral of Chicago’s schools. If the mayor could find a way to work with Mr. Rauner, he might still be able get something worthwhile done for the city in the three years remaining on his term.