New data filed with the U.S. Department of Labor shows Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ total income tops $289,000. The average household income of families receiving the Invest in Kids scholarships she wants to kill “for good” is just $45,046.
Few Illinois third-grade students can read at grade level. Even fewer low-income and minority students are at grade level in reading. Research shows this is a warning sign for Illinois students’ academic success and adult earning potential.
“We struggled with public schools; the curriculums and most schools not having the resources that the arts can bring to children. Her being able to attend the academy has been life changing and I see her growth every single week. Something new that she’s learning, something that she’s picking up from faculty, staff, other students and just her confidence.”
Brandon Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ transaction tax is primarily a tax on the already overburdened and depressed commercial property owners.
"There’s a public school, but it wasn’t the same as CAA. There, she was connected instantly. If this scholarship program ends, that’s just something we have to be prepared for.”
The Chicago Teachers Union’s most recent federal report reveals just 17% of its spending in 2023 was on representing teachers, but it tripled its political spending from the previous year. Nearly 500 teachers left the union.
1 in 5 Chicagoans living in poverty has a bachelor’s degree. Those without a high school diploma are four times more likely to live in poverty.
Nearly 60 years after the U.S. began the War on Poverty, the rate of Chicagoans living in poverty is higher than it was before the effort. National poverty rates have fluctuated between 11-15%, defying solutions and perpetuating dependence.
Chicago has one of the highest poverty rates among the nation’s biggest cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is continuing the mayoral tradition of giving the City Council and public too little time and too little information before a deficit city budget is passed. There’s little chance that will change soon, but it could be fixed.
This edition of The Policy Shop is by Director of Fiscal and Economic Research Bryce Hill. America has lost the War on Poverty. After nearly 60 years, the poverty rate remains stuck between 11% and 15%. It focused on making poverty less painful rather than helping people escape a trap that lasts for generations. The free...
"I had a good future in that field, but God had another plan and he changed my life. The addiction caused me to draw close to God, and God drew close to me and put me in his service.”