ANOTHER CHANCE FOR CPS
After pleading with gov to ‘ Take our kids off the table,’ Chance the Rapper and Rauner say they’ll keep working on school funding
Music impresario Chance the Rapper’s summit Friday with Gov. Bruce Rauner apparently did not go well, but the Chicago native and three- time Grammy winner pledged to collaborate with the governor to come up with a plan to fund the city’s public schools byMonday.
Chance, who grew up in West Chatham as Chancellor Bennett, left the Thompson Center saying he felt “flustered” after a 30- minute conversation with the governor that centered on funding for the Chicago Public Schools.
In brief remarks to reporters as he walked to the elevators with a small entourage, the rapper said he was frustrated by “vague answers” from the governor about funding for CPS but had exchanged phone numbers with Rauner.
“I felt it went a little bit different than it should have,” said the 23- yearold Chance, who attended Jones College Prep. “I’m here because I just want people to do their jobs.”
“And I did speak with the governor. I asked him about funding CPS with that $ 215 million that was discussed in May of last year and was vetoed in December over, you know, political arguments and ( stuff).”
Asked as he stepped onto an elevatorwhat hismessagewas, Chance said: “Take our kids off the table.”
But about an hour after the meeting, Chance seemed more optimistic, tweeting: “Chicago Public Schools and I did not lose today. Please don’t let that become the narrative. Monday morning I’ll have a plan.”
For his part, Rauner said the pair had agreed to talk more over the weekend on a school funding solution that the two could present to the Legislature when it reconvenes Tuesday. A school funding deal for Chicago and districts across the state is frequently mentioned as part of a “grand bargain” between Rauner and the Democrat- controlled Legislature that would end a twoyear stalemate over the state budget — an impasse that certainly has included it’s share of “political ( stuff).”
Rauner said he asked Chance to use his influence to help his cause, saying the rapper and son of a Chicago Democratic political operative had an “incredible voice”— presumably not referring to his singing.
“That powerful voice can be a voice for change,” Rauner said, addressing reporters after Chance left the building. “If we stood together, Chance, I have some power, I have power in some ways, you have great power in other ways. If we stood together, worked together, I think we could get big things done.”
Rauner’s meeting with Chance, and promise to work on a funding plan, came a day after Senate Democrats accused the governor of scuttling a bipartisan plan that had appeared close to getting a vote in the chamber.
Rauner pledged $ 215 million for CPS after negotiating a short- term budget last spring, with the funds contingent on legislative leaders passing a pension reform package. Rauner later vetoed a bill that would have delivered the funds, calling the $ 215 million a “bailout” for cash- strapped CPS, and saying Senate President John Cullerton, D- Chicago, had reneged on pension reform promises.
Cullerton said Rauner sank a budget deal being negotiated in the chamber by insisting on further concessions from Democrats, then leaning on GOP senators to pull back their votes.
Talking to reporters Friday, Rauner called the accusation that he had stalled negotiations “goofy.”
Chance officially ascended into the pop culture stratosphere with last year’s release of his third album, “Coloring Book,” which won three Grammys — an achievement that prompted Rauner to send out a congratulatory tweet. The rapper quickly respondedwith a tweet requesting a sit- down with the governor.
If Chance makes good on his promise to deliver a plan for school funding by Monday — when lawmakers will be out for the Casimir Pulaski Day holiday — it will be welcome news for CPS officials and Emanuel. The district has already announced a round of cuts to close the budget hole left behind when Rauner vetoed the $ 215 million, and the district last month filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s school funding formula.
And even if he doesn’t, Chance’s request that media outlets— including those that seldom delve into the minutiae of the Illinois state budget, such as music magazine Complex— explain “how we got here” seemed to be putting the CPS budget crisis in the national spotlight. MTV News’ Twitter account unleashed a string of tweets outlining the CPS’s recent fiscal struggles.
Rauner, who could not name a Chance song when asked by a reporter, said he was impressed by the rapper’s commitment to Chicago’s children.
“He requested the meeting and I respect that. I try to meet with everybody that I can,” Rauner said. “I believe from everything that I’ve read about him and everything I’ve learned about him, and I saw it today, I believe he has a passion to have a better future for disadvantaged young people.”