Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Arena

Chicago

As we wrote in March, the city of Chicago unveiled plans two months ago to close over 50 schools, mostly in the poorest areas.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan has sparked fierce protests, with thousands of protesters hitting the streets last weekend to oppose the school closures –arguing that they would put children at risk by having to travel further to overcrowded schools.

But while the city insists it must close these schools to close budget gaps, it has just announced that it will be dedicated as much as $100 million in public funds for the construction of a new basketball arena at DePaul University — which is about a third of the cost of the project.

Emanuel justified such a large public investment by saying that building the arena and surrounding event center will bring “huge opportunity” to the city of Chicago in the way that it would attract business and tourists.

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Read the rest in the link.

I have never been a fan of Rahm Emanuel. He looks like a donkey and he doesn't seem very smart. This is just another episode which proves that's he's a total donkey.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Rainman05 said:

Chicago



Read the rest in the link.

I have never been a fan of Rahm Emanuel. He looks like a donkey and he doesn't seem very smart. This is just another episode which proves that's he's a total donkey.

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This kind crap happens in a lot places. In my city elected officials are spending money on decorative sidewalks,streets and sound barriers and what looks like vintage looking street lighting and then complain to the public that they need to raise taxes taxes to fix roads.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Would the arena bring the city money?

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

digsbe said:

Would the arena bring the city money?

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Doesn't any attraction, whether a restaurant, bar or other facility? When calculating the business generated by a facility, we need to subtract revenue that would have been generated by the land in any case (the opportunity cost). Then we need to subtract the additional costs to the city for maintaining the surrounding roads, the necessary police and other services and such. In the end, does the stadium/arena really bring so much additional revenue (above and beyond the inherent additional costs to the city)?

I'm not sure we need to spend tax dollars on sports venues in the expectation that such will make us rich. Perhaps that same money spent on schools would have a higher return. As a free market needs an informed consumer to operate efficiently, I figure school is much more within the purview of the government than sports. Placed as a dichotomy, I don't see sports being the choice in general.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Rainman05 said:

Chicago



Read the rest in the link.

I have never been a fan of Rahm Emanuel. He looks like a donkey and he doesn't seem very smart. This is just another episode which proves that's he's a total donkey.

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Maybe they figured out that more people got jobs through building of an arena, then through attending the Chicago public school system. :lol:

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Rainman05 said:

Chicago



Read the rest in the link.

I have never been a fan of Rahm Emanuel. He looks like a donkey and he doesn't seem very smart. This is just another episode which proves that's he's a total donkey.

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So let's see the brake down of why these schools are being closed, and not just cry whenever any school is closed.

Sometimes closing a school is the right thing to do. As the OP you should link to the budget information detailing why these schools need, or do not need, to be closed.

We also don't know that the schools the students are going to are or will be over crowded. What faculty changes are being made to these schools? What facility changes are being made to these schools?

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

This may improve school performance despite the complaints. Schools in the poorest areas of the urban blue states are a defacto separate but unequal system. Consolidating the students into better performing schools instead of pouring money down the drain might be mutually beneficial in the long run.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Without knowing how Chicago's budgeting works, you can't make a judgement over whether Emmanuel is doing a wrong thing here. The part of the budget where the stadium money will come from may not be spendable on schools, infrastructure, etc.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Fisher said:

This may improve school performance despite the complaints. Schools in the poorest areas of the urban blue states are a defacto separate but unequal system. Consolidating the students into better performing schools instead of pouring money down the drain might be mutually beneficial in the long run.

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My local school district had a consolidation a few years ago. It seems that whenever a school is closed there is a group of people who are apparently under contractual obligation to parrot specific sentences, like "the new schools will be over crowded" and "the children will be in more danger".

That's just generic bull**** we always hear. It's not actually true until proven true.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Jerry said:

My local school district had a consolidation a few years ago. It seems that whenever a school is closed there is a group of people who are apparently under contractual obligation to parrot specific sentences, like "the new schools will be over crowded" and "the children will be in more danger".

That's just generic bull**** we always hear. It's not actually true until proven true.

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Well it logically is true that they will be more crowded. It really is the teacher's union getting pissy because it will cost them jobs usually in the end. I am all for lots of smaller neighborhood schools, but since people are not willing to pay for them, this is the best alternative to deal with failing schools and tight budgets as a practical matter.

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Fisher said:

Well it logically is true that they will be more crowded. It really is the teacher's union getting pissy because it will cost them jobs usually in the end. I am all for lots of smaller neighborhood schools, but since people are not willing to pay for them, this is the best alternative to deal with failing schools and tight budgets as a practical matter.

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You mean things cost money? But Obama said it was free? What do you mean that a school's funding has to come from somewhere?

Re: Chicago’s Choice: Closing 50 Schools But Spending $100 Million On Basketball Aren

Jerry said:

You mean things cost money? But Obama said it was free? What do you mean that a school's funding has to come from somewhere?

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Well, we could let the welfare recipients teach in exchange for their checks and call it a 2-fer; a 3-fer really if you believe the teachers union that they are being starved to death :lol: