They elected Mayor Emmanuel on the hope that he’d fix the city’s structural problems.
A few years later, the mayor is part of the problem. He faces a serious credibility problem, according to the Chicago Tribune:
Last year Emanuel won re-election.
He promised new directions.
Eight months later, look at the mess. A police scandal has swallowed Emanuel’s mayoralty, yet it’s only one of three debacles that have cost him the trust of so many Chicagoans:
Even after a huge hike in property taxes, citizens see that his borrowing binge buries today’s and tomorrow’s Chicago under enormous debts.
Meanwhile his school system is on the verge of financial collapse. What does he tell Chicagoans? He wants $6 million in tobacco taxes to give incoming freshmen a transition program. Transition to what? High schools possibly closed by a teachers strike, a financial reckoning or both?
Once again, a mayor confronted by crisis changes the subject, answering a question nobody asked.
Best to maintain the facade that all will be well — even as his Democratic allies in Springfield reject a budget deal that would begin to rescue Chicago and its children.
Chicago is just the latest blue mess, or a city run by Democrats who can’t break away from public sector unions and identity politics. Add to this that voters keep reelecting them and you have a poisonous brew.
It’s going to take more than a new mayor or election to fix Chicago but here is something they can try first.
Why not start with school reforms? Let the parents choose schools with a voucher provided by the state if necessary.
School choice won’t solve every problem but it will put kids on a path to a good education. Start by saving the kids and things are bound to get better.
