As I was reading this article from Fox Chicago on the teachers’ demonstration that took place in Chicago yesterday, this passage jumped out at me:
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis took part in the peaceful march, but her role in contract negotiations with Chicago Public Schools has come under criticism from some teachers.
Earlier this week, a CTU bargaining committee unanimously voted down a contract offer — rejecting a deal that CTU officials initially described as a “serious offer.â€
CPS CEO Forrest Claypool called that rejection disappointing, given the intense negotiations, and ratcheted up the pressure on negotiations this week by announcing $100 million in cuts and a decision to stop CPS’ 7 percent contribution to teachers’ pensions. Lewis called those moves “an act of war.â€
If there was any animosity toward Lewis and her approach to the offer, which was ultimately found to be unpalatable, it was hidden Thursday.
“We love you Karen,†supporters shouted as Lewis made her way through the crowds.
At the rally, Lewis bolstered her troops and spoke briefly with reporters about Gov. Bruce Rauner’s quest for a state takeover of CPS.
“How is he going to take over CPS if he can’t even do a budget with the state,†Lewis said. “He needs to set his own house in order and he needs to sit down before he breaks something.â€
“We’re still under the old contract, so to unilaterally make a change in the contract as far as we’re concerned is a declaration of war,†she said.
Lewis addressed a wider audience while explaining the rally and march.
“We need to have people understand in this entire country that there is a big schism between the wealthy and those of us who are not so wealthy. It’s just that simple — let alone between the working class and the poor.â€
She went on to call for government reform: “I’d like to see some revenue, a progressive income tax, and clean out the TIFS and give them back to the agencies they’ve been stolen from.â€
Unfortunately for her, neither of those are actually within the city’s power. The Illinois constitution mandates a flat rate tax. She should be demonstrating in front of Mike Madigan’s office. And tax increment financing isn’t a fund you can dip into. It’s a commitment of future tax revenues.
The city has been trying to increase revenues for some time without a great deal of success. We already have the highest sales tax in the country and among the highest property taxes. What Chicago really needs is economic growth. That’s the sine qua non.
“We need to have people understand in this entire country that there is a big schism between the wealthy and those of us who are not so wealthy.”
Hmm, where does the median teacher income in Cook County fall compared to the median income for private sector jobs in Chicago?
Me! Me! I can answer that.
Median income for Chicago teacher: $80,000
Median income for Chicagoans: $35,000
Note that the Chicago teacher doesn’t pay into Social Security. Although the teachers do contribute to their own pensions the city contributes 7% of what is notionally the teachers’ share.
But wait! There’s more. Here’s the distribution of household incomes in Chicago. I’d need to actually run the numbers but my eyeball-o-meter tells me that half of teachers are in the top 5% of income earners.
I knew you knew it off the top of your head.
Do you happen to know the median income of Chicagoans in the private sector? I imagine public sector Chicagoans are pulling that median up a bit.
And perhaps, given the state of the city, you guys should be known as Chicagonistas.
I’ve never researched it. I suspect it’s a tricky figure to come by. I know that average Chicago cops and firefighters earn six figures.
And of course your utility workers send their children to Princeton & Harvard.
Dave,
Just curious, but does that $80k figure include administrators or is it just for teachers?
That’s just teachers. Starting salary for a Chicago teacher with a four year degree is around $50,000 for a ten month position.
Wow, then the administrators are probably doing even better.
School principals earn between $120,000 and $160,000. Here’s a complete list of salaries (no names, just positions, salaries, etc.).
Median income for Chicago teacher: $80,000
Median income for Chicagoans: $35,000
Yeah, but they have to work part time for that premium. Oh….wait…..
That makes me feel like a loser. Should have been in the lucrative public sector.
TIF funds accumulate, and if there are no projects in a TIF District, the City can declare the uncommitted funds surplus and distribute them to the taxing districts that otherwise would have recieved them. The City’s practice has been to say, “No, no, no, there are a lot of projects just waiting, and they’ll need City help….”
Thanks, Bob. Good to know.
Assuming they’re lying, how much in TIF funds are presently uncommitted?
The aggregate TIF balance is enormous: “The city, meanwhile, did not return a request for comment on the TIF Illumination Project’s numbers. But it did acknowledge in its 2015 annual financial analysis that Chicago’s active TIF districts “had an aggregate balance of $1.38 billion” at the start of this year. But $1.29 billion of that amount is “reserved for payments due in connection with committed projects and projects in development,” according to the city.” That phrase, “projects in development,” is where the vagueness enters. The Sun-Times gives a wide range, of $150-$350 million, that could be returned to the school district. Surplus funds would normally be returned to all the taxing districts.
Okay, that’s good. $150-$350 million is a start. Where do we get the rest and what do we do next year?