I am on the Local School Council for Cleveland Elementary School in the Irving Park neighborhood, and I am very concerned with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s regressive new funding formula. Little has been discussed in the local media about this impending disaster, so it deserves more attention.
Funding levels here at Cleveland on Byron Street and Albany Avenue have been eviscerated for the next school year, resulting in three fewer teachers and the inability to hire a much-needed dual language teacher. We were told that this is due to the new funding formula, which is no longer based on student enrollment. Cleveland Elementary remains a school that serves the underprivileged. Below are some facts about our school that is losing three teachers.
• Enrollment is up to 499 in the past year.
• 88% of students are children of color.
• 81% are from low-income households.
Despite this, CPS and Johnson think we need less funding. I would love to know why the mayor thinks these underserved kids don’t deserve even the same funding levels from this year.
I appreciate any help in raising attention to Johnson’s gutting of the quality neighborhood school.
— Joseph Rappold, Chicago
Mayor’s ‘progressive agenda’
So Gregory Matthews, a community engagement manager with the Chicago Community Safety Coordination Center, says things such as the Chicago Police Department is “the most powerful gang in the city” and “we all know that law enforcement doesn’t work,” yet Mayor Brandon Johnson sees fit to let a person like that stand with him at the Garfield Park field house to talk about the “People’s Plan for Community Safety.”
Ald. Anthony Napolitano correctly labeled this “plan” as nothing more than another attempt to defund the police while the mayor say nothing about the anti-police rhetoric mouthed by Matthews.
What a shame, but this tells you all you need to know about the so-called “progressive agenda” being pursued by Johnson.
— Kevin Garvey, Chicago
Don’t believe Bears president
Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren wants us to believe that the team will invest $2 billion in a domed stadium that it would not own. The proposed location on the lakefront, as part of a Museum Campus expansion, surely would draw the ire of the Friends of the Park and other civic groups that successfully thwarted George Lucas’ bid for his Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the powers that be in Springfield are not inclined to throw public money at such a project. Mayor Brandon Johnson has too many budget holes to fill with too few dollars to commit the city to financing any part of the proposal.
Misdirection sometimes works on the gridiron. Do not believe it in this case.
— Len Levy, Glenview
2 Johnsons cause confusion
Is anyone else in Chicago having this problem? As you skim articles in which “Johnson said” this or that, you get confused whether it is referring to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson or Mayor Brandon Johnson.
I think for the time they’re in office together, the Tribune should assign them each a symbol: the American flag for the speaker and four red stars for the mayor, so we can know quickly who’s being referred to.
— Jane D. Bannor, Chicago
Happy to be back in Illinois
I just read The New York Times article published in Sunday’s Tribune (“‘You are going to love it here'”) about conservatives flocking to red South Carolina, and I can relate — in reverse!
Due to job changes, my family and I lived in Iowa these past 21 years, and thankfully my wife and I are now relocating back to our home state of Illinois to get away from the red state politics and evangelism that have overwhelmed Iowa since about 2010. It was a “purple state” when we arrived in 2003 but now has gone full red — a Northern version of Florida and Texas and soon to be another Kansas, thanks to its governor and super-majority Republican legislature’s efforts to strangle and starve government services. It has become the Wild West, where anything goes and all taxes and regulations are considered evil and unnecessary.
We are so excited to be back in a state that values diversity, the importance of maintaining public infrastructure and services, and enforcement of commonsense regulations that ensure the public is safe and protected from unscrupulous actors.
Let this be a warning to anyone from Illinois who considers moving West. Life is not better just across the river. Don’t let yourself be fooled by Iowa’s new tagline — “freedom to flourish.” That applies only to rich, white male farmers and the 30 million pigs that blanket the landscape every year and foul the air and water throughout the state.
Our forced exile has come to an end. It feels so good to be back home in the Land of Lincoln after all these years!
— Allen Bonini, soon-to-be Elburn
No excitement over the Sky?
Given the incredible level of excitement surrounding this year’s women’s NCAA March Madness tournament, as well as the WNBA draft, in which the Chicago Sky made good use of its two first-round picks, I find it appalling that Paul Sullivan (“Hold on to your hats,” April 22) could make the following statement: (Given the end of the season for the Bulls and Blackhawks and the total collapse of the White Sox), “that leaves Wrigley Field as the only real destination for entertainment the next few months.”
Sullivan gives a quick brushoff to the Sky (the team is “starting a total rebuild”), but really, doesn’t he think that watching Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso fit into brand-new coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s Sky will be fun? How about when Caitlin Clark plays for the Indiana Fever starting in May?
Come on, give the women their due!
— Virginia Blanford, Chicago
Veterans pay taxes and copays
As my Marine veteran spouse, an Army veteran friend and I discussed J. Alan Hale’s letter to the editor (“Giving priority to veterans?” April 20), the more annoyed we got.
It appears that Hale did not choose to put his life on the line for the good of others and that he has never worked at a Veterans Affairs hospital such as Hines.
Let’s be clear. Most veterans do their two to four years of service (taxes taken from their checks unless they were in a combat zone) and then enter the private sector to pay taxes like everyone else (Medicare, Social Security, state and federal taxes).
VA medical insurance has deductibles and copays (just like our current Medicare plans) that we are all enrolled in.
Yes, active military can retire with a pension after 20 years of service as do police, fire and most government employees. However, they all pay taxes!
So, in the future, Hale may want to research the subject before he writes a letter that, in general, is not correct.
— Ann DeFronzo, Woodridge
Veterans have protected America
I was shocked to read J. Alan Hale’s letter in the Tribune. A majority of the veterans have worked to protect America, and many have been hurt doing so. I am sorry if Hale is ill and must have appointments. I wait to see my doctors too but would let any veteran have my place if he or she needed it.
I have two brothers who are Marines. One died from injuries in Vietnam, and the other is ill from an illness he contracted while serving.
I respect our military as they may have to give their lives to protect us.
I know there are some who may not be perfect, but there are more who are brave, hard workers.
— A.M. Sulser, Rockford
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
