Chicago Public Schools

A Rising Tide: School Vouchers and Their History of Improving Public Schools

By Collin Hitt
04/21/2010
Students in Chicago’s lowest-performing public schools could soon have a new choice of schools if the General Assembly adopts a new program proposed by Rev. Senator James Meeks. Senate Bill 2494 would provide school vouchers to students in the bottom-performing ten percent of Chicago public elementary schools, giving those students the opportunity to attend area...

Kids Win. Taxpayers Win.

By Collin Hitt
03/17/2010
Tens of thousands of Chicago families are trapped in failing public schools. A new school voucher program has been proposed by the Reverend Senator James Meeks. Its goal is to give parents of students enrolled in the worst performing public schools the choice to send their children to private schools. Similar programs in other states...

Chicago Board of Education Credit Cards Canceled

01/26/2010
by Kate Piercy Thousands of dollars in artwork, limos, expensive meals and liquor charges by employees of the Chicago Board of Education, such as former presidents Michael Scott and Rufus Williams, along with their staff, have come under scrutiny, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman has canceled the credit cards of...

Charter Schools and Changing Neighborhoods: Hispanics and English Learners in Chicago

By Collin Hitt
09/30/2009
The Problem Illinois’s Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Hispanic students will play a major role in determining the state’s economic future. Unfortunately, these two critical groups of students have remained among the lowest-performing in our schools. This is especially the case in Chicago Public Schools, where the problem is exacerbated by the fact that thousands...

Chicago Students Prove They Can Compete… If Given a Chance

By Collin Hitt
05/29/2009
The Problem What would you do if your children could be on a championship-level team…but they weren’t allowed to try out? Every day, Chicago kids prove they can compete. All they need is the opportunity. Tragically, thousands of children are not given a chance to “try out” for better schools. They are locked into continually...

Charter schools rival top state graduation rates; offer chance to fix Chicago Public Schools

By Collin Hitt
05/29/2009
Thousands of children in Chicago are not given a chance to “try out” for better schools. They are locked into continually failing schools with low graduation rates, largely because Illinois lawmakers will not remove the arbitrary cap placed on the number of charter schools in the state. However, urban charter school graduation rate rival the...

Private Sector Educators, Public School Students

By Collin Hitt
02/27/2009
There are more than two million students enrolled in Illinois’ public schools.  Private providers — firms and individual contractors — play a pivotal role in helping schools to educate those children. No district can perfectly predict the future needs of their students.  Nor can every district maintain a permanent staff capable of meeting the specific...

A Survey and Overview of Privatization in Illinois’ Public Schools

By Collin Hitt
07/24/2008
Executive Summary Illinois has 871 school districts.  Each one is supposed to efficiently provide a high-quality education to all students who enroll in its schools.  It is no secret that many districts have struggled with providing a high-quality education.  Others have struggled to do so efficiently. A number of reforms exist to help school districts...
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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016